Vanishing Hitchhiker

http://www.jstor.
org
The Vanishing Hitchhiker
Author(s): Richard K. Beardsley and Rosalie Hankey
Source: California Folklore Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 4, (Oct., 1942), pp. 303-335
Published by: Western States Folklore Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1495600
Accessed: 18/05/2008 10:29
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless
you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you
may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.
Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=wsfs.
Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 to build trusted digital archives for scholarship. We enable the
scholarly community to preserve their work and the materials they rely upon, and to build a common research platform that
promotes the discovery and use of these resources. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
T h e Vanish ing Hitch h ike r*
RICHARD K. BEARDSLEY
ROSALIE HANKEY
T HIS IS T HE ST ORY
just
as we h e ard it se ve ral month s
ago,
from a le ve l-
h e ade d, conscie ntious busine ss man. "I've ne ve rbe e n able to unde rstand
th is,"
h e
be gan h e sitatingly.
"It
h appe ne d
to a frie nd of
mine ,
Sam
Ke rns,
a fe llow wh o we nt to Cal with me . He can't
e xplain
it e ith e r.
"Ke rns and anoth e rman we re
driving
h ome from a
party
in San Fran-
cisco. It was a wre tch e d
nigh t, bitingly
cold and
raining
with such vio-
le nce th at
driving
was difficult. As
th e y
dre w ne ara
stop sign
on Mission
Stre e t
th e y
made out th e indistinct form of a woman
standing
on th e
corne r,
quite
alone ,
as if sh e we re
waiting
forsome one . Since it was afte r
two o'clockin th e
morning
and
th e y
kne w th at th e stre e t cars no
longe r
we re
running, th e y
stare d at h e r
curiously
as
th e y
dre w
up
to th e corne r.
T h e n Ke rns
brough t
th e carto a
sh arp
h alt,
for
standing
in th e
pouring
rain with out a coatoran umbre lla was a
love ly girl,
dre sse d in a th in wh ite
e ve ning gown.
Sh e was
e vide ntly
in some e mbarrassme ntor trouble so
with out h e sitation
th e y
offe re d to take h e r h ome . Sh e
acce pte d
and
got
into th e backse at of th e ir two-doorse dan.
Re alizing
th at sh e must be
ch ille d,
th e y wrappe d
h e r in th e carblanke t. Sh e
gave
th e m an addre ss
ne arT win Pe aks and adde d th at sh e live d th e re with h e rmoth e r. How-
e ve r,
sh e made no
atte mpt
to
e xplain
h e r
pre se nce
on Mission Stre e t in
th e
pouring
rain,
with out coat or umbre lla. T h e me n starte d toward
T win Pe aks
making
some e fforts at
conve rsation,
to wh ich th e
girl
re -
sponde d polite ly
but in a manne rwh ich sh owe d
plainly
th at sh e did not
care to talk. Wh e n
th e y
re ach e d Fifth
Stre e t,
Ke rn's frie nd looke d round
*
For th e storie s
printe d
in th is
pape r
we are inde bte d to Pat
Bre nnan,
Mrs. R. E.
Collard,
H. A.
Corbin,
H. S.
Craig,
Miss Carrie
Fall,
Mr. and Mrs. F.
Fane nga,
C. N.
Gould,
C. H. Grif-
fin,
Miss Sara
Hah n, Mr. and Mrs.
Euge ne Hanke y,
Dr.
J.
Harris,
E. C.
Hassold,
G. W.
He we s,
W.
Hoh e nth al,
H.
Hornblowe r,
Miss Alvira
Joh nson, J. Joh nson, Captain
Kaufman,
Arde n
King,
Miss K.
Luomala, Miss D.
Macdonald,
W.
Margrave ,
Miss Gail
Montgome ry,
Mrs. Val
Morgan,
R. L.
Olson,
Miss Elizabe th
Opge nare th , Ch aplain Pe noye r,
Miss Eth e l
Re e ve s,
P. R.
Roh rke ,
Norman
Rich ardson,
Mrs. N. A.
Sande rs,
Miss Grace
Partridge
Smith ,
Ge orge
T all,
H.
T urne y-High ,
Miss
Sh irle y
Warde ,
W.
We ymouth ,
Mrs. Give n Pe rkins
Wilson, Ale xande r
Woollcott,
and se ve ral oth e r
pe rsons
wh o did not wish th e ir name s me ntione d.
T h e Ne w
Yorke r,
th e San Francisco
Ch ronicle ,
and th e Pasade na
Inde pe nde nt kindly
allowe d us to
re print
variants wh ich
appe are d
in th e ir
publications.
[ 33 ]
CALIFORNIA FOLKLORE
QUART ERLY
to se e if sh e we re comfortable . T h e re was no one in th e backse at.
Startle d,
h e le ane d ove rto se e if sh e
migh t
h ave falle n to th e
floor, but,
e xce pt
for
th e
crumple d
blanke t,
th e re was
noth ing
to be se e n. Amaze d and
frigh t-
e ne d,
h e made Ke rns
stop
th e car. With out doubt th e
girl
was
gone .
"T h e
only possible e xplanation
of h e r
disappe arance
was th at sh e h ad
slippe d quie tly
out of th e
car;
but
th e y
h ad not
stoppe d
since
picking
h e r
up.
T h at sh e could h ave
jumpe d
from th e carwh ile it was
moving
and
close d th e door be h ind h e r was almost
impossible . T h orough ly puzzle d
and not a little
worrie d,
th e y
de cide d to
go
to th e addre ss sh e h ad
give n.
Afte r some
difficulty th e y
found th e
h ouse ,
an old ramsh ackle
building
with a dim
ligh t sh owing
from th e inte rior.
T h e y
knocke d and afte r a
long
wait th e door was
ope ne d by
a frail old
woman,
clutch ing
a sh awl
ove rh e rsh oulde rs. As
th e y be gan
th e ir
story th e y
we re struck
by
th e com-
ple te incre dibility
of th e e ntire busine ss.
Fe e ling
more and more
foolish ,
th e y
stumble d on as be st
th e y
could. T h e old woman liste ne d
patie ntly,
almost as if sh e h ad h e ard th e same
story
be fore . Wh e n
th e y
h ad
finish e d,
sh e smile d
wanly,
'Wh e re did
you say you picke d
h e r
up?'
sh e aske d. 'On
Firstand
Mission,'
Ke rns
re plie d.
"'T h at was
my daugh te r,'
th e old woman said. 'Sh e was kille d in an
automobile accide nt at First and Mission two
ye ars ago.'
"
T h e busine ss man we nt on to
e xplain
th at at firsth e h ad conside re d
th is
noth ing
more th an a
good yarn
to
ke e p
in mind in case a conve rsation
sh ould turn to
gh osts.
But
sh ortly
th e re afte rh e h e ard an almostide ntical
story
in
Ch icago,
told
by
a man wh o insiste d it was true be cause it h ad
h appe ne d
to h is broth e r-in-law.
T h e n,
to make matte rs more
confusing,
h e h e ard th at th e
story
was
wide ly
told in and around Salt Lake
City-
only
th e re th e
girl
was
picke d up
at a dance .
We be came
acquainte d
with th e
vanish ing
h itch h ike r in much th e
same fash ion. Wh e n with out
difficulty
we colle cte d a doze n variants from
frie nds,
acquaintance s
and
strange rs,
we re alize d th atth e attractive h itch -
h ike r was a cre ature of folklore wh o
appe are d
not
only
in
Ch icago,
Salt
Lake
City,
and San
Francisco,
but in a doze n towns in California. En-
courage d,
we
be gan
to colle ct
se riously
both
orally
and
by
mail. T wo
month s of
inquiry
re sulte d in a total of more th an
sixty
variants,
twe lve
of wh ich we re ce ive d in a
body
from a colle ction initiate d
by
Profe ssor
Arch e r
T aylor
in and around
Ch icago
in
1931.1
As storie s
be gan
to trickle
1For th e use of th e se ve rsions in our
tabulations,
we
grate fully acknowle dge
th e
re ady
co-
ope ration
of Profe ssor
Wayland
D.
Hand,
wh ose studie s on
pre dictions
of calamitie s found
mate rial in our Ve rsion B storie s. We await with inte re st th e
publication
of th is mate rial for
wh ich Profe ssor Hand is at
pre se nt
still
gath e ring
storie s.
304
T HE VANISHING HIT CHHIKER
in from Ne w
York,
Ne w
Hampsh ire , Ke ntucky, Ge orgia,
T e xas,
and
Montana,
it be came e vide nt th at th e
le ge nd
was told all ove rth e Unite d
State s.
Our
atte mpts
to date ourstorie s we re not
always
succe ssful, since
many
of th e narrators h ad
difficulty
in
re me mbe ring
wh e n
th e y
h e ard th e ir
variant. But more th an h alf of our narrators re calle d th e
approximate
ye ar
in wh ich
th e y
firsth e ard th e
story,
wh ich date d th e
pe riod
wh e n th e
variantwas curre nt. On th e oth e r
h and,
since th e te lle ralmost
invariably
me ntione d th e
city
ortown in orne arwh ich th e h itch h ike r
appe are d,
we
h ad th e
ge ograph ic
location of almost
e ve ry story.
Giving
a
spe cific
location of th e
story
is one de vice use d to
e mph asize
th e
auth e nticity
wh ich adds
gre atly
to th e e ffe ctive ne ss of th e tale . T h is
e ffort to make th e
story
se e m true h as be e n obse rve d in
many
oth e r tale s
curre nt in th e Unite d State s and
Europe today.
Ale xande r
Woollcott,
in h is discussion of se ve ral mode rn
le ge nds,
was
impre sse d
by
th is ch arac-
te ristic and
unsucce ssfully atte mpte d
to trace h is storie s to th e actual
e ve nt de scribe d or at le ast to th e
pe rson
wh o
originate d
th e tale .2 At th e
be ginning
of our
study
we , too,
inve stigate d
th e
possibility
th at th e
story
arose from some factual
occurre nce ,
pe rh aps
a
pe culiar
or
spe ctacular
automobile accide nt. We took a de taile d local variant and ch e cke d it
th orough ly
with th e
Be rke le y city
re cords. But we found th at no se rious
accide nt h ad occurre d on th e stre e t corne rname d for th e five
ye ars pre -
ce ding
and th e five
ye ars
afte rth e date
give n
in th e
story.3
Of course th is
sh ows
only
th at th is
particular
variant h ad little basis in fact.
Howe ve r,
not
just
one ,
but
sixty
localitie s are th e
"guarante e d"
sce ne of th e vanish -
ing
h itch h ike r's
pe culiar
activitie s.
T racing
th e
possible
factual source s
of all th e se storie s would e ntail a
gre at
de al of e ffortand would
probably
yie ld comple te ly ne gative
re sults.
In our
group
of
se ve nty-nine
storie s we found four
distinctly
diffe re nt
ve rsions,
distinguish able
be cause of obvious diffe re nce s in
de ve lopme nt
and e sse nce . T h e se ve rsions will be discusse d in de tail late r.
Howe ve r,
for
clarity
in th e discussion
imme diate ly following,
an
e xample
of e ach is
give n
h e re . We
pre se nt
th e m
e xactly
as told
by
th e narrators. Unle ss
spe -
cifically
state d,
no
ch ange s,
additions orsubtractions h ave be e n made in
any
of th e storie s
printe d
in th is
pape r.
2Ale xande r
Woollcott,
Wh ile Rome
Burns,
Ne w
York,
1932, pp.
86,
93-94.
3
Se e No. 20.
305
CALIFORNIA FOLKLORE
QUART ERLY
VERSION A
1
Be rke le y,
California, I934.-A
young
man was
riding along
a stre e t in
Be rke le y
in h is car. It was
ve ry
late . On a stre e tcorne rh e notice d a we ll-
dre sse d
young
woman. He aske d if h e could
h e lp
h e r
ge t
h ome ,
and sh e
e nte re d th e backof th e car. Sh e
gave
h im h e r addre ss. Wh e n h e arrive d
at th e
addre ss,
h e was amaze d to find th at sh e h ad
disappe are d.
Afte r a
vain
se arch ,
h e de cide d to
que stion
th e
occupants
of th e h ouse . A
young
man answe re d h is
ring.
He told h is
story
and de scribe d th e
strange young
woman. T h e man wh o h ad answe re d th e doorbe ll be came te rrifie d and
said th atth e
de scription
fitte d h is
fiance e ,
wh o h ad be e n kille d in an auto-
mobile accide nt
e xactly
at th e corne rwh e re sh e h ad be e n
picke d up. (T h e
narratoradde d th at th e man wh o told h e r th is
story re ally
be lie ve d
it.)
VERSION B
2
Ringste d,
Iowa,
undate d.-A
ne wly
marrie d
couple
we re on th e ir
h one ymoon
and we re
re turning
in late
July
from a visit to th e World's
Fairin
Ch icago.
T h e last
day th e y
we re on th e road was
ve ry stormy,
and
driving slowly th e y
saw an old woman at th e side of th e road
h ailing
a
ride .
T h e y picke d
h e r
up,
and
during
a brie f introduction le arne d sh e
was from
Ringste d,
Iowa. Sh e told th e m not to
go
to th e Fairafte r
Se p-
te mbe r
first,
for th e Ench ante d Island was
going
to sinkinto th e Lake .
Sile nce
followe d,
and wh e n th e
young
wife looke d around to talkwith
th e old
woman,
th e woman was
gone .
T h e
couple
we re
puzzle d
and de -
cide d to
go
to
Ringste d
to
inve stigate
about th e ir
passe nge r. T h e y stoppe d
at th e
place
wh e re th e old woman said sh e h ad
live d,
but th e
pe rsons
liv-
ing
th e re at th e time informe d th e m th at th e woman h ad live d th e re but
th at sh e h ad
passe d away
a
ye ar
be fore . T h e
couple
de scribe d th e old
woman,
and th e re side nts of th e
Ringste d
h ome said th at th ose cloth e s
we re th e ide ntical one s in wh ich th e old woman h ad be e n burie d-and
th at it was
e xactly
a
ye ar
to th e
day
th at th e old woman h ad die d.
VERSION C
3
SaltLake
City,
Utah ,
I939.-At
a Ch ristmas dance a ce rtain
young
man
was attracte d
by
a be autiful
young girl
dre sse d in wh ite . Sh e was a stran-
ge r
in th e
h all,
but h e soon made h e r
acquaintance
and dance d with h e r
3o6
during
th e
e ve ning.
At th e close of th e dance h e aske d to take h e rh ome .
Wh e n
th e y
le ft th e h all th e
girl
h ad no
coat,
so th e
young
man offe re d h e r
h is
ove rcoat,
wh ich sh e wore .
T h e y got
in a carwith anoth e r
couple
and
on th e
way
to th e addre ss wh ich sh e h ad
give n
as h e r h ome sh e aske d to
stop
at th e
ce me te ry
for a minute . Sh e insiste d on
ge tting
out alone but
promise d
not to be
long.
Sh e didn't re turn to th e carand afte re fforts to
find h e r
faile d,
th e y
le ft th e
ce me te ry.
T h e
following day
th e
young
man
we nt to h e rh ome addre ss to
ge t
h is ove rcoat. T h e woman wh o answe re d
th e doorsaid no one
by
th at name live d th e re but a
family by
th at name
h ad live d th e re some
ye ars ago.
T h e
girl
h e was
inquiring
about h ad be e n
de ad
many ye ars.
T h e
young
man th e n we nt to th e
ce me te ry.
He found
a
grave
with th e marke r
be aring
h e r name and
age , e igh te e n ye ars,
at
de ath . Folde d
ne atly upon
th e h e adstone was h is ove rcoat.
VERSION D
4
Hawaii, undate d.-(T h is
was told
by
a native
Hawaiian,
a Yale
gradu-
ate ,
as a true
story.)
A frie nd of h is was
driving along
th e
h igh way climbing
th e
slope s
of
one of th e volcanoe s on th e island of Hawaii. He saw an old woman walk-
ing along
th e
road,
carrying
a
baske t,
and offe re d h e ra ride . Sh e
got
into
th e backse at of h is two-doorse dan. Wh e n h e re ach e d th e summit h e
turne d around to look at
h e r,
but sh e h ad
disappe are d.
Sh e was
Pe le e ,
wh o is known
by
th e fact th at sh e
always
carrie d
some th ing.
T HE ORIGINAL ST ORY
Our
primary obje ctive
was to de te rmine wh ich of our variants was th e
original story. By
th is we do not me an th at we
h ope d
to find th e first
vanish ing
h itch h ike r
story
e ve r told. Rath e r we
atte mpte d
to abstract
a ve rsion from wh ich oth e rs could
logically de ve lop
and wh ich e mbodie d
th e olde st e le me nts. It was
ne ce ssary
to re duce our
conglome ration
of
storie s to some
uniformity
and to
organize
th e m for
comparability.
We
de cide d th at th e e le me nts of all th e storie s could be
groupe d
unde rh e ad-
ings
orconstitue nt e le me nts wh ich in th e mse lve s
re pre se nte d
th e
e pisodic
patte rn
of th e
story. De spite
th e wide variance of
spe cific
minor
e le me nts,
th is
patte rn
is
fundame ntally
th e same
th rough out-introductory
re -
marks,
de scription
of drive r and
ve h icle ,
ch aracte rof th e
h itch h ike r,
circumstance s of th e
pickup, disappe arance , e xplanation
of th e
disappe ar-
ance ,
narrator's
concluding
re marks.
307
CALIFORNIA FOLKLORE
QUART ERLY
DISCUSSION OF T HE CONST IT UENT ELEMENT S
Introductory
re marks.-As is ch aracte ristic of
Sage n,
various
atte mpts
are
made in th e course of narration to
give
th e se tale s th e
appe arance
of
actual incide nts. In
forty
variants th e absolute truth of th e
story
is im-
plie d
or
positive ly
state d. Evide nce of th e narrator's
ve racity
is
ge ne rally
give n
be fore th e narration
be gins. Pe rh aps
th e adve nture
h appe ne d
to
a frie nd
(th irte e n case s)
or to a re lative
(two case s);
it is almost
always
locate d in a de finite
city
or
town;
usually
date s and
addre sse s,
as we ll as
th e name s of th e
participants,
are
give n
or re me mbe re d as
h aving
be e n
told. "I've
forgotte n
h e r name and th e e xact
addre ss,"
is a familiarcom-
me nt. In e le ve n storie s stre e tname s and e ve n addre sse s are re corde d.
In
th irty-one
storie s th e h itch h ike r
appe ars
afte r
dark;
in
fourte e n,
th e
h our is
downrigh t
late ;
only
four we re se e n
spe cifically
in th e
daytime .
T h e
significance
of th e time of
day
is not
always
cle ar. It is
logical
for
Ve rsion
C,
th e dance h all
story,
to occur late at
nigh t,
as it
may
be for
Ve rsion
B,
th e
story
of th e
proph e sying
woman,
to occurin th e
daytime ;
at
any
rate ,
th e se variants sh ow some corre lation.
Wh e n th e we ath e ris
me ntione d,
it is
windy, rainy, snowy,
or
anyth ing
but
ple asant.
It is
possible
th at th e narrator
th ough t
th at such an un-
usual incide nt
re quire d
an e e rie
se tting.
It is also
like ly
th at th e me ntion
of bad we ath e r
provide s
a
logical
e xcuse for th e
pickup.
Wide spre ad
distribution and th e
e arly
date for occurre nce indicate
th at th e
story
was
originally
told as
"gospe l
truth " and th at it h ad a noc-
turnal
se tting. Alth ough stormy
we ath e ris consiste nt with th e th e me of
th e
tale ,
th e re is no
good
e vide nce for its
age ;
it is not me ntione d in th e
olde st variants.
De scription
of
th e drive r and ve h icle .-In all but th re e storie s th e h itch -
h ike r ride s in an
automobile ;
of
th e se ,
one involve s a
buggy4
and one a
mail
wagon.5
T h e se
e xce ptional
storie s
posse ss
such
undoubte dly lite rary
fe ature s as a bloodstaine d
gown
ora sh roud-like dre ss worn
by
th e h itch -
h ike r. A th ird variant
e mploys
a cable carin San Francisco as a de vice for
local color.
Alth ough
it is not a
priori impossible
th at th e
story
h ad a
lite rary origin
nor th at it arose in th e
pe riod
of h orse drawn
ve h icle s,
th e
te st of
ge ograph ic
distribution and th e
ove rwh e lming
nume rical fre -
que ncy
of
se ve nty-six
out of
se ve nty-nine pre fe re nce s
forth e automobile
indicate th at th is was th e ve h icle use d in th e
original story.
It is not so
simple
to
pick
out th e
original
drive r. T h e te rm "drive r"
4Se e No. 22.
5
Se e No. 21.
308
must,
of
course ,
include all th e
occupants
of th e carin wh ich th e h itch -
h ike rride s.
Pre ponde rantly
th e h itch h ike r
appe ars
to a lone man
(forty-
six
instance s);
but h e is
accompanie d by
one ormore
pe rsons th irty-two
time s,
h as be e n marrie d and is with h is wife twe lve
time s,
and h as multi-
plie d
into a
family
twice ;
in six storie s we know
only
of
"pe ople "
in th e
carth at
stops
forth e h itch h ike r. T h e re
appe ar,
h owe ve r,
ce rtain corre la-
tions with th e
major
variants. Ve rsion A sh ows a random occurre nce of
various
groupings,
but h as a nume rical
pre ponde rance
of
single
me n
(th irty-two
out of
forty ve rsions).
T h e
young
man wh o make s a
pickup
at
a dance
(Ve rsion C)
is
usually
une ncumbe re d,
or h as one or two male
companions. By
contrast,
th e
proph e sying
woman of Ve rsion B attracts
th e
sympath y
of a marrie d
couple
ora
family driving along
th e
h igh way.
T h at it was
originally
an automobile th atwas drive n is
virtually
ce rtain;
th at a lone man drove it is le ss
ce rtain,
but
probable .
Ch aracte r
of
th e h itch h ike r.-It is e sse ntial th at e ach variant contain
a ch aracte r
corre sponding
to th e
h itch h ike r;
th e te rm is not
always
accu-
rate ,
e xce pt
in
re fe rring
to a
pe rson give n
a ride in some one e lse 's car.
T h e
vanish ing
h itch h ike ris with out
e xce ption
fe male and is rath e re lab-
orate ly
de scribe d in some ve rsions. T h e brie fe st of
de scriptions
indicate s
h ow old sh e is-as
migh t
be assume d-in
wome n,
th e
age
make s th e dif-
fe re nce . Ye t,
in fourte e n storie s we are told
only
h e rse x. T h e re al contrast
is be twe e n th e
young girls
wh o attract th e drive r
th rough
th e ir
be auty,
and th e old
wome n,
wh o are e nfe e ble d orburde ne d
by
a load.
We
must,
of
course , ask,
"Wh ich came
first,
th e ch icke n or th e h e n?"
T h e answe ris indicate d
by
th e
disproportion
of
forty-se ve n girls
to four-
te e n old wome n.
More ove r,
th e re is no localization of th e storie s involv-
ing girls;
variants from all th e
pe riph e rie s
of our distribution as we ll as
from th e ce nte rs fe ature
girls.
Ve rsion
C,
by
re ason of its dance h all se t-
ting,
stars
only young girls.
In contrast to th is is Ve rsion B in wh ich no
young
wome n are
spe cifie d.
T h is
ve rsion,
e mph asizing
a
proph e cy,
sh ows
five old wome n and four wh ose
age s
are not
give n;
we be lie ve th at th e
association of old
age
with th e wome n of th is ve rsion
may
be close rth an
th e
figure s
sh ow. Ve rsion A h as a
pre ponde rance
of
girls,
and th e olde st
date d storie s contain
girls.
Forth e se
re asons,
it is
probable
th at th e
"orig-
inal" h itch h ike rwas a
girl.
Re marks are made in
twe nty-se ve n
storie s in furth e r
de scription
of th e
h itch h ike r; about one in th re e of th e se h as
some th ing note worth y
about
h e r
dre ss, actions,
or
appe arance .
T h e
de scription
of th e
girl fre que ntly
is inte nde d to
e mph asize
h e r
attractive ne ss,
e .g., by
me ntioning
a th in
3o9
CALIFORNIA FOLKLORE
QUART ERLY
e ve ning
dre ss,6
ora
clinging
blackve lve t
cape .7
But fore ach
age
class th e
inte ntion in se ve ral instance s is to h int at h e r true
gh ostly
nature . He r
dre ss is ne ve r
colore d,
but
may
be blackorwh ite .
Espe cially
in th e ove r-
e laborate d variants doe s th is
garme nt
re se mble a
sh roud,8
or
actually may
be
grave cloth e s.'
In oth e r
case s,
th e
de scription
is inte nde d to sh ow th at
th e h itch h ike r h ad re ason for
wanting
or for
be ing
offe re d a
ride ;
th e
girl
carrie s an armful of
books,'?
th e woman a
h e avy bag,"
th e old woman
a baske t.'2 T h is burde n some time s se rve s a more concre te
function;
it is
le ft in th e car to
prove
th at th e h itch h ike r was
re ally
th e re . In
rainy
we ath e rth e h itch h ike r
may
h ave no umbre lla or
raincoat,1
wh ile th e
girl
at a dance is with out a
wrap
to cove rh e rth in
e ve ning
dre ss.'4
T h e re
may
be
noth ing
more
tangible
th an a "tire d and
pitiful
attitude " to attract
gallant
assistance . Little corre lation is sh own in th e se e le me nts of de -
scription. T h e y re pre se nt
th e narrator's
fancy
at
play
with h is
mate rial,
rath e rth an
anyth ing inte gral
to th e
story.
T h e re fore it is
like ly
th at th e h itch h ike r of th e
original
ve rsion was
an
attractive ,
implicitly
de licate ,
young girl.
Sh e
may
h ave be e n
de finite ly
de scribe d,
but th is
e le me nt,
if it
e xiste d,
h as be e n varie d
be yond possible
re construction.
Circumstance s
of
th e
pickup.-Up
to th is
point
in th e
story,
wh e re th e
action
comme nce s,
th e re h as be e n little indication of
dive rge nce among
th e
major
ve rsions. T h ose
e xample s
of Ve rsion B in wh ich th e time is
me ntione d occurin th e
daytime
and involve wome n orold wome n. Ve r-
sion C must occurlate at
nigh t,
and
pre suppose s
a
young girl.
Ve rsion A
is le ss
particular,
but is incline d to
young girls
and lone drive rs. From
th is
point
on, h owe ve r,
th e diffe re nce s be twe e n
major
ve rsions be come
incre asingly
cle ar.
We h ave
applie d
th e labe l of
"vanish ing
h itch h ike r" to th e fe male
gh osts
of all
major
ve rsions,
with out distinction. T h is te rm is
appropriate
for Ve rsions A and
B,
e ve n
th ough
th e
lady
in
que stion may
be offe re d
a ride
(th irty-fourcase s)
inste ad of
asking
foror
appe aring
to
e xpe ct
one
(e igh te e n case s).
Sh e
may
be e ncounte re d on th e stre e t corne r of a
city
(twe nty-four variants)
or on th e
ope n h igh way (th irty-th re e variants);
th e
h igh e r proportion
me t on th e
h igh way
is re duce d wh e n we subtract
all variants of Ve rsion
B,
in wh ich th e h itch h ike r
uniformly appe ars
out-
side of a
city.
It would be a
tossup
as to wh e th e rwe sh ould me e t a standard
6
Se e 22 Se e No. 22.
9
Se e No.
36.
7
Se e No.
35.
10
Se e No. 8.
13
Se e
story
at
be ginning
of
pape r.
8
Se e No.
41.
11 Se e No.
11.
14 Se e Nos.
3,
16.
310
vanish ing
h itch h ike r in town or
out,
but if we we re
looking
fora
proph -
e cy,
we sh ould do we ll to
stay
in th e
country.
We h ave le ss
justification, th ough ,
in
te rming
th e
girl
of Ve rsion C a
h itch h ike r,
since th is
girl
is e ncounte re d in a
se tting
de scribe d
(accord-
ing
to th e taste of th e
narrator)
as a dance
(se ve n case s), nigh t
club
(two
case s),
or a be e r
joint (one case ).
T h e situation is not th at of a "h itch -
h ike r" but of a
"pickup."
In th is as in oth e r e le me nts,
Ve rsion C is th e
most
dive rge nt.
In
fact, Ve rsion C
may
be a
comple te ly
diffe re nt
story
conve rging
in de tails to re se mble th e
"vanish ing
h itch h ike r." T h is
possi-
bility
is discusse d in a late rse ction. T h e re are th re e ve rsions of Ve rsion
A wh ich sh ow
possible
contamination
by
Ve rsion
C,
since th e
girl
is me t
in a
nigh t
club or at a dance .
Oth e r abe rrant locations sh ould be me ntione d. In five Midwe ste rn
variants,
a
h itch h iking
woman or old woman
appe ars
ne ara
ce me te ry.15
In
Hawaii,
local color is adde d to one variant
by making
th e be ach th e
sce ne of th e incide nt.'6
From
pre ponde rance
of
numbe rs,
we
judge
th at th e stre e tor
h igh way
is th e
original
sce ne of th e
pickup,
but we cannot
de finite ly
ch oose be -
twe e n th e se two alte rnative s. T h ose variants with th e e arlie st
probable
date s17 use th e
h igh way,
wh ich also e xh ibits
sligh tly h igh e rfre que ncy
and
th us h as a
sligh t, th ough
doubtful,
e dge .
An e le me nt of some
significance ,
since it occurs
twe nty-nine
time s in
quite se parate
localitie s,
involve s th e h itch h ike r's
riding
in th e re arse at
of th e
car,
and is
ge ne rally
use d to
e xplain
h e r
vanish ing
with out notice .
In four of th e se variants it is
pointe d
out th at th e car was a two-door
se dan,
le st th e
disappe arance
be
e xplaine d
too
re adily.
T h is fe ature is
pe culiar
to Ve rsions
A, B,
and
D;
th e
girl
of Ve rsion
C,
wh o is
be ing
take n
h ome from a
dance ,
would
h ardly
be
e xpe cte d
to
fore go
th e front se at.
We assume th at in
e ve ry story
in wh ich th e drive r re ach e s th e h itch -
h ike r's
h ome ,
it is be cause sh e
give s
h im
dire ctions,
alth ough
th is, too,
is
fre que ntly implie d,
not state d. In a fe w
instance s,
th e h ome doe s not
e nte r th e
story,
but wh e n it
doe s,
th e narrator
fre que ntly
"re me mbe rs"
th at h e h e ard an e xact numbe r
give n
on a
spe cific
stre e t.
It is
during
th e drive th at follows th e
pickup
th at Ve rsion B distin-
guish e s
itse lf; i.e .,
in th e course of th e conve rsation th e h itch h ike rwarns
of a
coming catastroph e .
T h e re is a curious
consiste ncy
about th e se
pro-
ph e ticwarnings: th e y
are ne ve rmade
by
a
girl, th e y
are made
only
in th e
midwe st,
and of a total of
nine ,
se ve n conce rn th e
Ch icago
Ce nte nnial
15
Se e Nos.
30,
40,
45, 47, 74-
16
Se e No.
32.
7
Se e Nos.
9,
21-25.
311
CALIFORNIA FOLKLORE
QUART ERLY
Fairto wh ich th e motorists are
driving.
Various disaste rs are
proph e sie d;
notably,
th at th e Fairwill sinkunde r wate rorslide into Lake
Mich igan
by
a ce rtain
date ,"8
th at an
e pide mic
is immine nt in th e
city1"
to wh ich
th e drive ris
h e ade d,
or th at a
sh aky bridge
will
collapse ."2
T h e
proph e cy
is th e focal
point
of th is
ve rsion;
th e
uncanny se que l
of
disappe arance
and
discove ry
th at th e h itch h ike rwas not of th e
living
se rve
only
to convince
th e h e are rof th e truth of th e
pre diction.
T h is
e mph asis
in contrast to
Ve rsions A and
C,
wh e re th e
disappe arance
and th e
supe rnatural
are all-
important,
adds to th e e vide nce from minor de tails and
ge ograph ic
re -
striction th at th is
group
of
"pre diction
storie s" is a blockse t
apart
from
th e standard h itch h ike r. We h ave additional
re ports
of a similar
story
told at th e T e xas Ce nte nnial
Fair,
wh ich followe d th e
Ce ntury
of
Prog-
re ss,
but no ve rsions. It
may
be th at th e
story,
orsome like
it,
jumps
from
e ve nt to
e ve nt;
we le ave th is
proble m
for future re se arch to de te rmine .
T h e
original
sce ne of th e
pickup
was
probably
th e
h igh way,
be cause
th is is th e olde r of th e two most
fre que nt
locations. Ve rsion B
always
occurs
along
th e
h igh way,
and Ve rsion C
probably be gan
in a dance
h all. It is
like ly
th at th e
original
h itch h ike r rode in th e re ar se at and
th at sh e
gave
th e drive rh e r addre ss.
Disappe arance .-Afte r
th e ch aracte rs h ave be e n introduce d and th e
se tting
laid,
th e
intrigue d
liste ne r is
pre cipitate d
into th e crux of th e
story by
th e sudde n and
ine xplicable disappe arance
of th e h itch h ike r.
In
fifty-th re e
ve rsions no one witne sse s th is
disappe arance ; only
twice is
it obse rve d
by
th e drive r. T h e
twe nty
ve rsions wh ich lackth e
disappe ar-
ance include
e ve ry
instance of Ve rsion C and th e C-contaminate d vari-
ants of Ve rsion A
(e le ve n
in
all).
One -th ird of th e Ve rsion B storie s lack
th e
disappe arance ,
wh e re as
fifty-th re e
of our
sixty
Ve rsion A h itch h ike rs
vanish .
Alth ough
th e storie s in wh ich th e re are no
disappe arance s
are
sporadic
in
comparison
to th ose in wh ich th e h itch h ike r
vanish e s,
we can find
groupings.
T h e
girl picke d up
at a dance in Salt Lake
City (Ve rsion C)
is
de posite d
on th e stre e t a fe w doors from h e r
h ome ,
le st sh e wake h e r
family.
In some C storie s sh e
ge ts
out of th e carat a
ce me te ry,
a fe ature
found in no oth e rvariant.
Nondisappe arance
variants are scatte re d ove r
most of th e known h itch h ike r
are a, but,
e xce pt
in Salt Lake
City, th e y
are isolate d. In
Conne cticut,
th e
South ,
th e
Midwe st,
Los
Ange le s,
and
Hawaii,
th e
girl
is le t off at
h ome ;
in Indiana and
Be rke le y
sh e
goe s
to
h e rmoth e r's h ouse orto th atof a re lative . No
uniformity pre vails e xce pt
in Ve rsion C as found at Salt Lake
City.
18
Se e Nos.
10,
11,41.
19 Se e No.
39. aO
Se e No.
73.
312
Ve rsion A
storie s,
with a
majority
of
disappe arance s (forty-se ve n
out
of
sixty tale s),
are almost
monotonously re gular
in
de scribing
th e drive r's
astonish me nt "wh e n h e turne d around as h e came to th e stre e t sh e h ad
give n
h im,
to find sh e was not th e re ." T h e dramatic e ffe ctive ne ss of th e
disappe arance
is
pre se rve d
in most storie s
by le aving
th e state me nt with -
out e laboration. But
e xplanations
wh ich h int
pre mature ly
of th e
supe r-
natural occur: th e h itch h ike r
may
vanish afte r
crossing
a stre am2' or
afte r
passing
a
ce me te ry.22
We sh ould note an
inge niously plausible
e xit
made
by
th e
girl
at a se rvice station wh e re th e drive r h as
stoppe d
for
gas.
He make s a
natural,
and
e rrone ous,
assumption
and waits for some time
in vain.23 In a le ss subtle variant th e
girl
vanish e s be fore th e h orrifie d
e ye s
of th e
drive r,
wh o
only
at th at time
pe rce ive s
th e bloodstain on h e r wh ite
dre ss.24 T h e se are all
pate nt spe cializations upon
th e
simple
th e me of
disappe arance ,
wh ich is a
logical pre cursor
for
any
of th e m.
T h e
que stion
of wh e th e r
disappe arance
or
nondisappe arance be longs
to th e
original story pre se nts
a difficult
proble m.
On th e one
h and,
sixty-
e igh t pe r
ce nt of th e storie s contain a
disappe arance .
On th e
oth e r,
non-
disappe arance
variants
give
e vide nce of
age ; th e y
sh ow much variation
and are
wide ly
scatte re d,
with e ach variant more or le ss isolate d
(e xce pt
in Salt Lake
City).
More storie s and a be tte r distribution would cle ar
up
th is
proble m.
At
pre se nt,
on th e basis of
fre que ncy,
we de cide in favor
of th e
disappe arance , alth ough
we admit th e
disappe arance may
h ave
be e n
adopte d
at a late r time as a de vice for
incre asing suspe nse
and for
guarante e ing
th at th e drive r will
go
on to th e de noue me nt. T h e re is no
doubt, h owe ve r,
th at th e h itch h ike r h as
always
be e n one re turne d from
th e de ad.
Explanation
of
th e
disappe arance .-In
th ose storie s marke d
by
th e
sudde n
disappe arance
of th e h itch h ike r an unde rstandable
curiosity
or
conce rn at th is
appare nt
bre ach of natural law
impe ls
th e drive r to in-
quire
at th e addre ss sh e
gave
h im for more information about th is curious
be ing. Occasionally
an additional motive is adde d: sh e h as le ft
some th ing
in th e carwh ich sh ould be re turne d to h e r. T h e se are
oddly
misce llane ous
obje cts:
a
book,25
a
bicycle ,2
a
suitcase ,27
or a baske t.28 Until late in our
pe riod
of
colle cting,
it se e me d th at none of th e narrators was
going
to
wonde r wh at
h appe ne d
to th e
mounting
numbe r of
books,
bicycle s,
e tc.,
21
Se e No. 21. 2' Se e No.
30.
23
R.
Hanke y,
"California
Gh osts," California
Folklore
Quarte rly,
I
(April, 1942),
p.
174,
story
No.
32.
24
Se e No. 22. 27Se e No.
5.
25 Se e No. 8. 28 R.
Hanke y,
op. cit.,
No.
38.
26
Se e No.
9.
313
CALIFORNIA FOLKLORE
QUART ERLY
re pe ate dly brough t
to th e door
by
be wilde re d motorists. T h is
proble m
found an answe rin th e variant from
Ossining:
th e h itch h ike r's moth e r
adde d th e late st suitcase to a
pile
wh ich in th e th re e month s since h e r
daugh te r's
de ath h ad fille d a close t to
ove rflowing.'
T h e
h e ap
was sh own
to th e drive ras e vide nce th at h is was but one in a se rie s of similar
e xpe ri-
e nce s. T h e baske tcarrie d
by
th e old woman is also le ft in th e
car,
e xce pt
in two variants from Hawaii.3 In th e se storie s
(according
to K.
Luomala,
a stude nt of
Polyne sian
folklore to wh om we owe one
variant),
th e baske t
is a
sign by
wh ich th e
godde ss
Pe le e
may
be
re cognize d,
e ve n
th rough
h e r
disguise .
From Hawaii also come s anoth e rnove l
e le me nt;
wh e n th e
girl
le ave s th e
car,
th e se at is
damp
wh e re sh e h ad be e n
sitting,
and a
pie ce
of se awe e d is
lying
th e re .31 In Ve rsion C storie s th e
girl
some time s
give s
h e r e scorta
le gitimate
re ason for
re turning
to se e h e rwh e n sh e
ne gle cts
to
give
backh is ove rcoat.3
In
sh ort,
a wide
varie ty
of
inge nious
motive s,
most
fre que ntly curiosity,
conce rn,
or a "de sire to se e th e attractive
girl again,"
le ad th e drive rto
call at th e h itch h ike r's addre ss. T h e
h e te roge ne ous spe cific
e le me nts
wh ich
bring
h im th e re could
logically
be adde d to th e more
ge ne ral
one
of
curiosity
and
conce rn,
wh ich is
probably
e arlie stsince it is
wide spre ad
and
fre que ntly
use d.
In
fifty-one
of th e
fifty-nine
storie s wh e n th e drive rcalls at th e
door,
h e is confronte d with th e
startling
ne ws th at h is h itch h ike r is no
living
pe rson,
but h as be e n de ad forsome time . In th e
re maining
storie s oth e r
de vice s are substitute d to
give
th is
ne ws,
some in addition to a visit to
h e rh ome . In
any
e ve nt,
th e narratormake s sure
by
one orse ve ral me ans
th at th is
grue some
ne ws is re ve ale d. In SaltLake
City'
and in Honolulu"4
th e
discove ry
of h e r de ath is made
accide ntally,
i.e .,
with out
going
to
h e rh ome for
information;
a visit to th e
ce me te ry
substantiate s th e de ath
in Salt Lake
City (Ve rsion C).'
T h e Hawaiian storie s le t it
go
with out
ch e ckup, h aving
ne ith e r a visit to th e h ouse nor a
trip
to th e
ce me te ry.
Only
Ve rsion C
brings
in ce me te rie s h e re as an
important
e le me nt,
ye t
th is ve rsion use s in addition all th e oth e r me th ods of
discove ring
th e
h itch h ike r's de ath me ntione d in A and B.
T h e
ide ntity
of th e
pe rson
wh o re late s th e
tidings
of de mise varie s con-
9
Se e No.
5.
30
Se e Nos.
4, 17.
3' Se e No.
32.
T h is
motif, ch aracte rizing
a re ve nant from de ath
by drowning
is not
common,
but occurs in lite rature . Cf. A.
Woollcott, Wh ile Rome
Burns,
pp. 83-86;
B. He ch t and
C.
MacArth ur,
T h e Scoundre l.
32
Se e Nos.
3,
16.
34
Se e Nos.
9, 35.
" Se e No.
13.
85
Se e Nos.
13,
77.
314
side rably;
h owe ve r,
me mbe rs of th e
family
are
favore d,
most of all th e
moth e r.
Disre garding
an inde cisive
listing
of
"pe ople "
wh ich occurs
e igh t
time s,
th e
family
statistics stand:
moth e r, 12;
"family," 7; daugh te r,
2;
h usband, 2; fath e r, i; fiance ,
i. We h ave counte d th e fiance as
be ing,
at
le ast
putative ly,
one of th e
family. Se tting
th is total of
twe nty-five against
a total of th irte e n for such nonre late d
pe rsons
as: "a
woman,"
7;
inn-
ke e pe r
or
store ke e pe r,
2;
landlady,
1;
ne igh bor,
i;
police ,
1;
and
prie sts,
1,
it se e ms
like ly
th at th ose variants with "a woman"
e ntry re ally
me ant
"moth e r,"
since th e ide a of a fe male re lative
coming
to th e door
pre dom-
inate s
th rough
th e
story.
A
striking
ch aracte risticof most of th e se storie s is th e
"punch e nding"
wh e n th e final e le me nts of th e narration
give
th e information th at th e
h itch h ike r is de ad. T h e fe w variants in wh ich th e drive r le arns of th e
h itch h ike r's
be ing
de ad ne ith e r at th e addre ss sh e
gave
nor at th e ce me -
te ry
are e ith e r
incomple te
orabe rrantin
many
de tails,3
and in th e irlack
of
ne ce ssary
e le me nts cannot be conside re d
typical
storie s.
T h e manne r in wh ich th e re ve lation is made at h e r h ome h as be e n
discusse d. T h is mode of
le arning
th e ne ws is
pre dominant.
Of th e five
ve rsions in wh ich a
trip
to th e
ce me te ry
is
made ,
th re e of th e se
only
con-
firm th e ne ws h e ard at th e h ouse 37 or
by
accide nt e lse wh e re .38 In one of
th e
re maining
two variants89 th e truth is not re ve ale d until th e
young
man finds h is ove rcoatfolde d
ne atly
and
drape d
across a ne w
grave ;
but
in
story 13
it is not h is coat but h e r
e ve ning wrap
and
slippe rs lying
on
th e
grave
th at
prove
th e
grisly
truth . In e ach
instance ,
th e
ce me te ry
motif
is associate d with Ve rsion C.
Of th e
twe nty-e igh t
ve rsions in wh ich th e drive rle arns th at th e h itch -
h ike r suffe re d a viole t
de ath ,
th irte e n are automobile accide nts and in
te n of th e se th e
girl
orwoman was kille d
pre cise ly
at th e
spot
wh e re sh e
was
picke d up.
One minor de viation from th is
patte rn
occurs in Be rke -
le y4
in wh ich th e
girl
h as be e n kille d in an accide nt
pre cise ly
in th e
way
and at th e
spot
wh e re sh e save s h e rdrive rfrom de ath . T h is motif of vio-
le nt de ath is most
close ly
associate d with Ve rsion A. It occurs
twe nty-e igh t
time s in th e
sixty
storie s classe d as
A,
A
variant,
orA de ficie nt.
Alth ough
th is is not
quite
a
fifty pe r
ce nt
fre que ncy,
it sh ows a wide and random
distribution ove rth e wh ole
te rritory.
T h is fact
give s
it a claim to a
place
in th e
original story. T h ough
inconclusive ,
th e e vide nce indicate s th at
th e
original
h itch h ike r suffe re d a viole nt de ath . T h at we sh ould blame
36
Se e Nos.
21,
30, 32, 33, 36.
39 No.
14;
se e Nos.
3,
16 for th is same e le me nt.
37
Se e Nos.
15, 16,
76.
40 Se e No. 8.
38
Se e No.
13.
315
CALIFORNIA FOLKLORE
QUART ERLY
an automobile orfind h e rat th e
spot
of h e rde ath is not ce rtain.
Analogy
with oth e r
gh ost
storie s
may
h ave introduce d th e last
e le me nt.4'
In
twe nty-five
ve rsions th e
appe arance
of th e
h itch h iking gh ost
is a
re pe tition
of a
pre vious
visit;
in
e igh t
of th e se th e re ve nant sh ows
up
e ach
ye ar e xactly
on th e
annive rsary
of h e r de ath . Since th e se e le me nts
are of minor
importance ,
th e ir abse nce from th e
majority
of storie s doe s
not
prove
th e ir
re ce ncy,
but we h ave
good
e vide nce oth e rth an a random
distribution th at
th e y
are
old;
th e date d
storie s,
both
e arly
and
re ce nt,
give conflicting te stimony. Only
in Hawaii is h e r
re pe ate d
re turn ne ve r
me ntione d;
it could be assume d th at th e Hawaiian ve rsions ste m from a
source e arlie rth an th e birth of th e se e le me nts. But Hawaii h as a C-con-
taminate d variantof Ve rsion
A,
and we are
re asonably
sure th at Ve rsion
C is
comparative ly
re ce nt. T h e re fore th e e le me nt was
probably
lost be -
fore th e
story got
to Hawaii.
T h e ne xt
e le me nt,
th e
le ngth
of time since th e de ath of th e
h itch h ike r,
varie s from a fe w
days
to
twe nty-five ye ars.
But th e
le ngth
of time is not
important
in
itse lf;
its function in th e
story
is to
e mph asize
th atth e h itch -
h ike r is
th orough ly
de ad. T h e time is not
important e nough
in itse lf to
re main constant orto be include d
ve ry
ofte n and th e re sult is a wide but
sporadicge ograph ic
distribution from th e Atlantic se aboard to Hawaii.
T h e
findings
can be summarize d
brie fly.
In th e
original
ve rsion curi-
osity
orconce rn le ad th e drive rto
inve stigate
th e
disappe arance by going
to th e addre ss th e h itch h ike r h as
give n
h im. T h e
girl's
moth e r answe rs
th e door and te lls h im th at h is
passe nge r
was h e r de ad
daugh te r. Any
we ll-told or
re asonably comple te
ve rsion informs th e drive r
spe cifically
th at h is e rstwh ile
passe nge r
is
de ad,
oth e rwise th e
point
of th e
story
is
lost. In mostvariants h e is told at th e addre ss sh e h as
give n. Early
storie s,
if not th e
original,
add th at th e h itch h ike r h ad be e n kille d in an auto
accide nt and th at th is was some time
ago.
It is le ss
like ly
th at in th e
e arly
variants sh e was known to
give re pe at pe rformance s
and it is
impossible
to te ll h ow
long
th e
original
h itch h ike r was
suppose d
to be de ad.
Narrator's
concluding
re marks.-A fe w comme nts
by
th e narratorfre -
que ntly
follow th e
story prope r,
almost
always
as indire ct "e vide nce " of
th e truth of th e
story.
If th e
e xpe rie nce
so sh ocke d a man known to th e
narratororfrie nd of h is as to drive h im
insane ,
th e incide nt could
h ardly
h ave be e n
imaginary!
Or,
th e
story
is true be cause it was
printe d righ t
in a
ne wspape r
or
magazine ,
and
be ing
in blackand wh ite se ts it above doubt
41Stith
T h ompson,
"Motif Inde x of
Folk-Lite rature ," FF Communications
(1932),
No.
107,
E
275;
R.
Hanke y, op.
cit., p.
16o.
316
317
orcavil. Be cause
spe cific
de tails such as addre sse s are
good "proof"
of th e
incide nt,
th e narrator
may apologize
for not
re me mbe ring
th e m;
th e
th re e addre sse s wh ich we re not
forgotte n
are th ose of institutions wh ich
can be e xact with out stre e t numbe rs.4 T h e se
proof
fe ature s h ave no
sig-
nificant
localization,
but occur
infre que ntly
and atrandom. T h e
insanity
fe ature is of a diffe re nt
class;
it is include d be cause th is is a
gh ost story,
not be cause it is a factual tale .43
Wh e n a variantis associate d with a
major
e ve nt,
it is most
apt
to
be long
to Ve rsion B in wh ich
pre dictions
are made
conce rning
th e
1933 Ce ntury
of
Progre ss Exposition.
Ye tin an A and A
variant,
th e
story
is told in con-
ne ction with th e
Long
Be ach
e arth quake ,44
as we ll as th e
Ce ntury
of
Prog-
re ss45 but with out th e
pre diction.
Since th is e le me nt ch aracte rize s
B,
alth ough
two of th e B ve rsions lack
it,
and occurs
only
as an abe rrance in
th e A
ve rsion,
th e e le me nt
pate ntly be longs
to Ve rsion B. In
fact,
th e A
ve rsions in wh ich a
significant
e ve nt is me ntione d
corre spond
in most
particulars
to Ve rsion
B,
lacking only
th e
warning
th at is a h allmark
of B. T h e
sugge stion
offe rs itse lf th atth e se
may re ally
be Ve rsion B
storie s,
paradoxically
told with out th e critical B e le me nt.
T h is discussion h as sh own th at th e
major
ve rsions of th e
vanish ing
h itch h ike r
story
follow a
ge ne rally
similar
patte rn th rough out,
but th at
e ach
dive rge s ch aracte ristically
not
only
in
ge ne ral
tre nds and e xclusive
e le me nts,
but also in
unimportant
de tails. Ve rsion A contains th e
major-
ity
of
ge ne ral
e le me nts;
B and C add ce rtain
spe cialize d
de tails wh ich are
not
like ly
to h ave se rve d as a source forVe rsion
A,
but must rath e rh ave
grown
out of it. T h e most
comple te ly
distinctive e le me nts are found in
Ve rsion
C,
wh ich
may
h ave be e n an
originally se parate
tale wh ich was
fitte d into th e h itch h ike r
patte rn by conve rge nce
of de tails.
Ne ve rth e le ss,
it sh ould be
e mph asize d
th at th e C ve rsions fit into e ach of th e
major
e pisodiccate gorie s,
th us
re se mbling
A and B in th e irstructure more th an
do th e oth e r storie s of
nongh ostly
h itch h ike rs to wh ich allusion will be
made in a furth e rse ction.
T HE
MAJOR
VERSIONS
VERSION A
Forty-nine pe r
ce nt of ourstorie s fit
pe rfe ctly
into th e Ve rsion A
cate gory.
It
gre atly surpasse s
th e oth e r variants in
distribution,
be ing
found in
sixte e n state s and also in Me xico and Hawaii. It is a
simple story,
funda-
42
Se e Nos.
7,
9, 28.
44
Se e Nos.
7, 67.
43
S.
T h ompson, op. cit.,
E 265.
45
Se e No.
37.
CALIFORNIA FOLKLORE
QUART ERLY
me ntally
le ss
complicate d
th an B, C,
or D and conce rns an
ordinary
h uman
be ing,
a
frie nd,
or
acquaintance ,
wh o
picks up
a
strange girl
on
a stre e t or
h igh way.
T h e re is
noth ing
we ird orunnatural about
th is;
th e
country
is full of h itch h ike rs and
pe ople
wh o
give
th e m ride s.
Howe ve r,
in th e course of th e ride th is h itch h ike r
disappe ars myste riously.
Puzzle d
or
anxious,
th e drive r
goe s
to h e raddre ss and
inquire s
about h is
passe n-
ge r.
In an instant th e little adve nture is suffuse d with h orror. T h e
girl,
wh om h e h ad
picke d up,
wh o rode in th e same carand talke d to
h im,
h as
be e n de ad for
ye ars!
T h e climax of th e Ve rsion A storie s
h inge s
on th is
utte rly une xpe cte d
re ve lation. T h e contrastbe twe e n th e
ordinary
circumstance s,
wh ich are
made all th e more re al
by
th e
spe cific
addre sse s and th e matte r-of-fact
atmosph e re ,
and th e
gh astly
re alization th at th e
passe nge r
was a
gh ost,
give s
th e
story
its
pe culiar powe r.
T h is ide ntical e ffe ctis
gaine d
in some
of th e fine st
lite rary gh ost
storie s of th e last fe w de cade s.46
If we h ad
only
one ortwo variants of th is nucle ar
story
wh ich claime d
to ante date
1933,
we
migh t
h e sitate to
acce pt
th e e vide nce wh ich indi-
cate s th at Ve rsion A is th e
"original" story.
But nine storie s scatte re d
wide ly
ove rth e Unite d State s we re h e ard
by
narrators we ll be fore
19334
and th re e we re h e ard in
1933.4
T h is
fact,
adde d to its e normous
ge o-
graph icspre ad,
clinch e s Ve rsion A's
position
as th e
original story.
EXAMPLES OF VERSION A
5
Ossining,
Ne w
York, I940.-A
man and h is wife we re
driving
h ome from
a
party
late in th e
e ve ning.
T h e road was darkand de se rte d.
Sudde nly
in
th e be am of th e
h e adligh ts th e y
saw a
girl standing
atth e side of th e road-
a suitcase in one h and and h e r coat in th e oth e r.
Be ing
fe arful for th e
girl's safe ty
on th at
dark,
de se rte d
road,
th e y stoppe d
th e carand insiste d
th atsh e ride with th e m. With out a word sh e
got
into th e carand
th e y
rode
on.
Ve ry
fe w words we re
spoke n. T h e y
rode in sile nce forabout h alf an
h our. T h e
man,
to bre akth e
sile nce ,
turne d and aske d wh e re sh e live d
so th ath e could take h e rh ome . But sh e h ad
disappe are d, le aving
suitcase
and coat. T h e man swe ars h e was
doing
from
th irty-five
to
forty
mile s an
h our;
so sh e couldn't h ave
jumpe d
out.
46
Edith Wh arton,
"All
Souls," "Afte rward,"
Gh osts
(Ne w
York,
1937);
A. M.
Sch oll,
"Goose -
fle sh in Lite rature ,"
Cath olic World
(1940),
v.
150, p.
310.
47
Se e Nos.
9, 21-25;
also "South Carolina Folk
T ale s,"
Bulle tin
of
th e
Unive rsity of
South
Carolina
(Octobe r, 1941),
pp.
77-84.
48
Se e Nos.
37, 38, 63-
318
On th e suitcase was an addre ss.
T h e y
we nt to th is addre ss and me t an
e lde rly
woman
of,
say, sixty ye ars
of
age . T h e y e xplaine d
wh at h ad
h ap-
pe ne d;
sh e told th e m th at
th e y
we re th e te nth
pe rsons
wh o h ad
brough t
h e ra suitcase and a coat and sh owe d th e m nine oth e rsuitcase s and coats
of th e same
de sign
in a close t. Sh e told th e m th e
girl
was h e r
daugh te r
wh o h ad die d a
long
time
ago
atth e
age
of sixte e n.
T h e man's
wife ,
be ing
a ne rvous
type
of
pe rson,
tooksick
imme diate ly
afte rward and was committe d to an insane
asylum.
He
ne arly
we nt
wacky
h imse lf. I h e ard th is
story
about two
ye ars ago
and it's still
going
around.
I aske d
my
frie nd if h e h ad h e ard it and h e said h e 'd h e ard it in
Pe nnsyl-
vania,
but
diffe re ntly
worde d.
6
Fort
Worth , T e xas,
h e ard about
I939.-T h is
story
is
quite popular
in
my
h ome town. In factI
th ough t
it was th e
only
one until now. As I h e ard
it,
th e
young girl
was
walking along
a
lone ly
road wh ich ran around a
lake ne ar Fort Worth . It was a
rainy nigh t
and sh e was
picke d up by
a
couple
and
put
in th e backse at of th e ir car. Sh e said th at sh e h ad
gotte n
lost wh ile on a
picnic
and it h ad starte d to rain so sh e h ad starte d h ome .
Sh e
gave
th e m an addre ss to take h e r
to,
but
upon re ach ing
th e
city
th e
couple
found th at sh e h ad
disappe are d. T h e y
we nt on to th e addre ss
any-
way
and an old woman answe re d th e ir knock. Wh e n
th e y
told h e r th e
story
th e woman
be gan
to
cry
and said th at th e
young girl
h ad be e n h e r
daugh te r.
Sh e said th at th e
girl
h ad be e n drowne d wh ile on a
picnic
th re e
ye ars ago
th at
nigh t
and th at th is was th e th ird time in th re e
ye ars
th at
some one h ad come on th at
nigh t
and told h e rth e same
story
th at
th e y
h ad.
7
Los
Ange le s,
California,
h e ard
sh ortly
afte r I933.-T h is h appe ne d
to
some frie nds of mine .
T h e y
we re
driving
in th e dire ction of
Long
Be ach
one
Sunday
afte rnoon. It was
raining. T h e y
saw a
girl
in a wh ite
e ve ning
gown
with a coat th rown ove rh e r
sh oulde rs,
waiting
at an inte rse ction of
Atlantic Boule vard and some de finite stre e twh ich I h ave
forgotte n.
T h e
couple picke d
th e
girl up.
Sh e satin th e backse atof th e carand
gave
th e m
an addre ss in
Long
Be ach to take h e rto.
T h e y
trie d to
e ngage
h e rin con-
ve rsation but sh e was
quite glum,
so afte r a wh ile
th e y
de siste d. Wh e n
th e y
arrive d at th e stre e t in
Long
Be ach
th e y
we re
surprise d, upon
look-
ing
around,
to se e th at sh e h ad
disappe are d. T h e y rang
th e be ll at th e
addre ss and an
e lde rly lady
answe re d th e door. Afte r
h e aring
th e ir
story
319
CALIFORNIA FOLKLORE
QUART ERLY
out sh e smile d
wanly
and
said, "Ye s,
th atwas
my daugh te r
wh o was kille d
in an automobile accide ntatth atinte rse ction th e
nigh t
of th e
Long
Be ach
e arth quake . Many
oth e rs be fore
you
h ave
picke d
h e r
up
to
bring
h e r
h ome ,
always
with th e same re sults."
8
Be rke le y,
California, I935.-T h is story
was h e ard in a Durant Ave nue
boarding
h ouse ,
told se ve ral time s as a true
story.
It
h appe ne d
to a frie nd
of th e narrator. T h is frie nd was
driving up
He arst Ave nue one
rainy
nigh t.
As h e came to North Gate
(He arst
and Euclid
ave nue s)
h e saw a
girl,
a stude nt with books unde r h e r
arm,
waiting
forth e stre e tcar. Since
th e se h ad
stoppe d running,
h e offe re d h e ra ride . Sh e live d
up
on Euclid.
T h e y
drove out
along
Euclid
quite
a
way
with some conve rsation. As
th e y
we re
crossing
an
inte rse ction,
anoth e rcarcame down th e
ste e p
h ill
and
th e y
would h ave crash e d if th e
girl
h ad not
pulle d
on th e
e me rge ncy
brake . T h e fe llow was
flabbe rgaste d
and sat
looking
at th e oth e r
car,
wh ich
pulle d
around h im and we nt on. Wh e n h e re me mbe re d h is com-
panion
and looke d
ove r,
sh e was
gone .
Since it was ne ar h e r
h ome ,
h e
assume d sh e h ad
simply gotte n
out to walkth e re st of th e
way;
but sh e
h ad le ft a bookon th e se at. T h e ne xt
day
h e we nt to re turn th e book. He
found h e r
fath e r,
an
English profe ssor,
at h ome . He said th at th e
girl
was
h is
daugh te r,
th at sh e h ad be e n kille d in an auto accide nt at th e same
corne r one or two
ye ars ago
th at
ve ry day.
But since th e fe llow h ad th e
book,
th e fath e r took it into th e
library,
to look on th e sh e lve s for it-
h e found th e
place
wh e re it sh ould h ave be e n vacant. T h e book was in
h is h and.
9
Hawaii, I926.-(T h is
was told to th e narrator
by
a frie nd from
Hawaii.)
T h e
daugh te r
of th e
gove rnor
of Hawaii was kille d
riding
a
bike ,
by
th e
firstauto in Hawaii. A numbe r of time s in th e
past
fifte e n
ye ars
frie nds
of Mr. h ave
picke d up
a
girl push ing
a smash e d bike
along
th e
road,
looking
fora ride .
T h e y put
h e rin th e backse atof th e car. Sh e
give s
th e
gove rnor's
mansion as h e r addre ss. Conve rsation
de ve lope d
on th e
ride into
town,
but
ge tting
no answe rth e drive rlooks ove rto discove rth at
sh e h as
disappe are d. Upon re turning
th e bike to th e
gove rnor's
mansion,
th e y
le arn th atsh e is de ad.
(Eve ryone
knows th atsh e h as be e n
kah una'e d,
i.e .,
be witch e d.)
320
VERSION B
Compare d
with Ve rsion
A,
th e distribution of th e nine Ve rsion B storie s
is
ve ry
limite d;
with one
e xce ption,
a
story
from
Sh e ldon, Iowa,
th e y
we re
h e ard with in
175
mile s of
Ch icago. Alth ough
th e ske le ton is
ve ry
like th e
A
story,
some de finite variations
appe ar.
T h e
young girl
of Ve rsion A is
a woman or an old
woman,
th e e ve nt take s
place
in th e
day
time ,
and
th e auto is
always occupie d by
se ve ral
pe ople .
But th e
proph e cy
is an
addition wh ich
comple te ly
sh ifts th e climax of th e
story.
T h e
supe r-
natural e ve nt wh ich is th e crux of th e A
story
assume s minor
importance
and be come s
only proof
th at th e
proph e t
was
supe rnatural
and th e re -
fore kne w wh at sh e was
talking
about.
Be cause Ve rsion B is re stricte d in its
curre ncy,
told
only
ne ar
Ch icago
(date d
ve rsions are th re e in
1933
and one in
1935),
it is
h igh ly prob-
able th at th is ve rsion arose in and around
Ch icago
be fore
1933.
Pe r-
h aps
th e
pre diction
was involve d
arbitrarily
and th e n
applie d
to th e
Ce ntury
of
Progre ss Exposition.
An old
Ch icago supe rstition
th at th e
lake sh ore would some
day slip
into Lake
Mich igan may
h ave h ad a
sig-
nificant influe nce .49
In two variants th e old woman carrie s a baske t. Wh e th e r th is sh ows
any
conne ction with a
pe culiar
little old woman of Ge rman
folklore ,
we
do not know. T h is Ge rman
supe rnatural
carrie s a baske t and climbs
on farme rs'
wagons (fre que ntly
wh e n th e farme ris
driving
h ome alone
at
nigh t), wh e re upon
th e h orse s are no
longe r
able to
pull
th e
wagon.5
EXAMPLES OF VARIANT B
10
Rockford, Illinois,
I933.-(T h e
narrator's
landlady
told h im th at sh e
h ad h e ard th is
story
ove r th e
radio.)
A man and h is wife we re
driving
h ome to Rockford from
Ch icago. T h e y picke d up
an
e lde rly
woman
h itch h iking
h ome to Rockford. In th e course of
ge ne ral
conve rsation,
sh e
told th e m h e r stre e t addre ss. T h e n sh e told th e m th at
North e rly
Island
was
going
to
disappe ar
in Lake
Mich igan
be fore some de finite date
(I
be lie ve sh e me ntione d
July 4).
Wh e n th e man's wife said
some th ing
to
h e r and sh e did not
re ply, th e y
turne d around to look at h e r and found
h e r
gone .
Wh e n
th e y
re ach e d Rockford
th e y
we nt to th e addre ss th e
woman h ad
give n
and le arne d th at sh e h ad die d a
ye ar
ortwo be fore .
49
We owe most of th e se
"pre diction
storie s" to th e kindne ss of Profe ssor Hand of th e Uni-
ve rsity
of California at Los
Ange le s,
wh o is at
pre se nt
colle cting paralle ls.
50
K.
Re ise r,
Sage n,
Ge brduch e und
Sprich worte r
de s
Allgdus (Ke mpte n, 1895),
Vol.
2,
Nos.
104, 114, 119.
321
CALIFORNIA FOLKLORE
QUART ERLY
11
Jolie t,
Illinois,
I933.-Pe ople
in an automobile
going
to th e
Ce ntury
of
Progre ss Exposition
in
Ch icago
are h aile d
by
a woman with a
trave ling
bag, standing by
th e roadside .
T h e y
invite h e r to ride and sh e
ge ts
into
th e
car,
but h e rface is darkand
th e y
are unable to se e it
cle arly.
Sh e
ge ts
into conve rsation and te lls th e m th at th e fairin
Ch icago
is
going
to slide
off into Lake
Mich igan
in
Se pte mbe r.
Sh e
give s
th e m h e raddre ss in Ch i-
cago
and invite s th e m to call th e re . Wh e n
th e y
turn around to
spe ak
to
h e r,
th e y
cannot find
h e r;
sh e h as
disappe are d. T h e y go
to th e addre ss and
me e t a
man;
usually
it is th e woman's h usband. Afte r h e h as h e ard th e
story
h e
says,
"Ye s,
th atwas
my
wife . Sh e die d four
ye ars ago."
Some time s
it is th e woman's broth e rwh o te lls th at it is h is siste r.
12
Wauke sh a,
Wisconsin
(undate d).-(T h is story
as an auth e ntic account of an adve nture of a ne arre lative .-T h e
pe rsons
conce rne d live in Port
Wash ington, Wisconsin.)
A man and h is wife
we re
trave ling along
a
h igh way
in th e south e rn
part
of Wisconsin.
T h e y
notice d an old woman
walking along
and
stoppe d
and aske d if
th e y migh t
take h e rwith th e m. Sh e said sh e would be
glad
of a ride as sh e was on h e r
way
to Wauke sh a wh ich was rath e rfar
away.
Sh e
got
into th e backse at
of th e ir
car,
and told th e m th e addre ss to wh ich sh e was
going
in Wau-
ke sh a.
T h e y
starte d
discussing
th e World's Fair and th e
pe ople
me n-
tione d th at th e ir re lative s we re
planning
to visit th e fair on a ce rtain
we e ke nd in
Se pte mbe r.
T h e old woman trie d to convince th e m th at
th e y
sh ould
by
all me ans se e to it th at th e ir
family stay
h ome on th is
particular
we e ke nd be cause a dre adful
catastroph e
was
going
to
h appe n
at th e fair.
Sudde nly
th e
couple
be came conscious of th e fact th at th e
passe nge r
h ad be e n sile nt for some time .
T h e y
turne d to askh e r a
que stion
and
sh e was
gone . T h e y
we re at a loss to
e xplain
h e r
disappe arance .
T h e
only
stop
th e car h ad made was a
ve ry sligh t pause
for an arte rial
h igh way.
T h e y
we nt on some wh at
puzzle d
about th e incide nt. Se ve ral we e ks
late r,
wh e n
th e y h appe ne d
to be
passing th rough
Wauke sh a,
th e y stoppe d
at
th e addre ss th e woman h ad
give n
th e m. T h e
pe ople living
th e re
re porte d
th at th e
pe rson
in
que stion
h ad not live d th e re forse ve n
ye ars.
322
VERSION C
Ve rsion C diffe rs from Ve rsion A in
many
e le me nts: th e re ve nant
is
always
a
young girl;
sh e is
picke d up
in a
place
of
amuse me nt,
not on th e
stre e t or
h igh way;
sh e ne ve r
disappe ars
but is
droppe d
off at a
ce me te ry
or h e r
h ome ;
sh e le ave s th e drive r's coat or h e r own
garme nts
on h e r
grave .
T h is ne w combination be come s a romantictale of
distinctly
maca-
bre
quality.
A
young
man me e ts an
alluring
and
myste rious young girl
at a
dance ,
nigh t
club,
orbe e r
joint.
Afte ran
e njoyable e ve ning
of drink-
ing
or
dancing,
h e take s h e rh ome . But th e
gh ostly
fe male is not conte nt
with a
quie t disape arance ;
sh e must re turn to h e r
grave ,
a
grue some ,
vampire -like
de e d. T h re e ve rsions
carry
out th e e vil fe male
spirit
motif
to its
logical
conclusion,
in two5 th e
young
man h as a ne rvous bre akdown
or
goe s
insane . In one 5 h e die s two month s afte rh is e ncounte r with th e
de ad
girl.
T h is
story
turns
up
in
Ch icago,
Salt Lake
City,
south e rn
California,
and
possibly
Hawaii. We h ave
e igh t typical
ve rsions and th re e in wh ich
some C e le me nts h ave be e n adde d to th e A
story.
Of th e se e le ve n ve rsions
te n are date d: nine we re told be twe e n
1939
and
1940
and one
(a
C vari-
ant)
in
1936.
No A or B variant h e ard be fore
1935
contains a h int of
any
of th e ch aracte risticC e le me nts. Be fore
1935
th e h itch h ike r was
picke d
up
on stre e ts and roads and not in dance h alls or
nigh t
clubs. And it was
not till
1939
th at th e re was
any
re cord of a h itch h ike r
bringing
h arm to
th e h umans wh o e ncounte re d h e r.5
T h is
group
of storie s
pre se nts
some
inte re sting proble ms.
Did
th e y
de ve lop
from Ve rsion A or is C an
inde pe nde nt story
wh ich
gradually
me rge d
with th e A ve rsion? With so fe w variants it is difficult to
say.
Howe ve r,
th e re is no doubt th at Numbe r
13
could stand
alone ,
and
it,
or some tale like
it,
migh t
be th e
original
to wh ich more and more e le -
me nts of th e olde r A
story
we re adde d.5
Ve rsion C also e xh ibits a curious and
fascinating ph e nome non-arch ai-
zation. T h is is not so e vide nt in th e oral storie s5 as in some of th e
printe d
variants
(in
contrast to th e
ge ne ral
run of h itch h ike r
storie s)
wh ich are
51
Se e Nos.
15, 76.
52
Se e No. 16.
53
One
e xce ption:
th e man in
story
No. 26
(1931)
h ad a ne rvous bre akdown.
54
Afte r th is article was
comple te d
we re ce ive d se ve ral ve rsions like No.
40
from th e East and
Middle
We st,
in wh ich th e attractive
young girl
is
picke d up
at a
ce me te ry.
T h is
may
be a
distinct variant of th e Ve rsion A
story,
but we are not
ye t
ce rtain;
our e arlie st variant is date d
1935.
55
Se e Nos.
13, 14, 15.
323
CALIFORNIA FOLKLORE
QUART ERLY
cramme d almost to th e
bursting point
with Old World folkide as. Num-
be r 16 is an e xtre me
e xample :
th e
young girl
looke d as if sh e we re
floating
on
air, i.e .,
gh ostly;
sh e fe lt
cold;
h e r
image
was not se e n in a
mirror;
sh e h ad love d th e
boy
in life and h e r
spirit
re turne d for
h im;
th e
boy
die d
two month s
late r;
th e
spirit
of th e
girl
re turne d to h e r
grave
and
(it
is
intimate d)
re e nte re d it.
T h e se e le me nts are common in
Europe an
folklore and
may
be found
in
many lite rary gh ost
storie s.
By
far th e
gre ate r
numbe r of
Europe an
gh osts
sh ow de finite
supe rnatural
ch aracte ristics' and
many
of th e m fe e l
cold to th e touch .57 T h e fact th at
vampire s
cannot se e th e mse lve s in mir-
rors h as be e n we ll
publicize d by
Mr. Stoke r.8 T h e de ad love rwh o re turns
for h is
(orh e r)
be love d is a we ll-known
figure
of
Europe an
lore ,
and it
is also
wide ly
be lie ve d in
Europe
th at
se e ing
a
spirit
will cause illne ss or
drive a
pe rson
insane .5"
Finally,
in all of th e variants th e
girl
re turns to
h e r
grave ,
a
typical
action of a
vampire .
T h is raise s an
inte re sting que stion:
did Ve rsion C startas a
compara-
tive ly simple story
like Numbe r
13
or
14
or was a
lite rary
variant like
Numbe r 16 stre amline d
by
much oral
re pe tition?
T h e care ful
analysis
of
many
more variants
migh t give
th e solution to th is
pe rtine nt proble m.
EXAMPLES OF VARIANT C
13
Salt Lake
City,
Utah
(undate d).-A
Salt Lake
City
nurse was
e ngage d
to a doctor. Sh e die d
just
be fore th e sch e dule d
marriage .
A
man,
a com-
mon frie nd of h e rand th e
doctor,
saw h e rat a
dance ,
we aring
a
striking
e ve ning
dre ss. Not
knowing
of h e r
de ath ,
h e tookh e r h ome . Sh e
got
out
of th e carbe fore
th e y
arrive d ath e r
door,
not
wanting
to be take n
dire ctly
th e re . T h e ne xt
day
h e found out at th e
h ospital (h e
was also a
doctor)
th at sh e h ad die d. He we nt to th e
grave , fe e ling upse t,
and found th e
e ve ning
cloth e s sh e h ad worn
lying
on
top
of th e ne w
grave .
14
Los
Ange le s,
California, I94o.-T h is
actually h appe ne d
to a fe llow I
know. He and h is frie nd we re in a be e r
joint
in downtown Los
Ange le s.
56 S.
T h ompson,
op. cit.,
E
272;
Bach told-Staubli, Handw6rte rbuch de s de utsch e n
Abe rglau-
be ns
(1930),
Ge stalt de r
Ge iste r, III, pp. 488,
495.
57
S.
T h ompson, op.
cit.,
E
215.
s8 Bram Stoke r, Dracula
(Ne w York,
1897),
pp.
19-20.
It is not at all
unlike ly
th at th e
play
and motion
picture
base d on Dracula and th e
se que l
Dracula's
Daugh te r
influe nce d some of
th e C ve rsions.
59
S.
T h ompson, op.
cit.,
E
215
and E
265.
324
T h e y
me t a
young
woman th e re . Sh e aske d th e m if
th e y'd
take h e rh ome
be cause sh e live d in th e same
ne igh borh ood (Be lve de re Garde ns).
So
th e y
all
got
in th e carand sh e satin th e backse at. It was a
ve ry
cold
nigh t
and
sh e borrowe d one of th e ir ove rcoats. Wh e n
th e y
re ach e d th e
Eve rgre e n
Ce me te ry,
sh e aske d th e m if
th e y'd stop
a minute . So
th e y stoppe d
and
le t h e r out.
T h e y
waite d. Wh e n sh e didn't come back
th e y th ough t
sh e
h ad stole n th e ove rcoat.
T h e y got
a little
aggravate d
and we nt out to
lookforh e r.
T h e y
we nt into th e
ce me te ry
and looke d around. T h e n
th e y
saw th e ove rcoat
drape d
ove ra h e adstone .
15
North
Rive rside , Illinois,
I939.-(T h is story
by
a man wh o said h e kne w th e
boys
conce rne d
ve ry we ll.)
T h e se
boys
we nt to a
public
dance . It was in a small town and
th e y
kne w most of
th e
pe ople
th e re .
T h e y
saw a
ve ry
attractive
girl
in a wh ite
dre ss,
and
one of th e
boys
aske d h e rto dance with h im. He r h ands we re so cold th at
h e
th ough t
sh e was ill.
Howe ve r,
afte r th e dance was ove r
th e y
offe re d
to take th e
girl
h ome and sh e conse nte d.
T h e y got
into th e carand sh e
gave
th e m h e raddre ss. But wh e n
th e y got
to th e Oak
Ridge Ce me te ry
th e
girl
said,
"I
forgot.
I
promise d
I'd
ge t
out h e re ."
T h e
boys
saw h e r
go th rough
a
h e dge . T h e y
waite d,
but sh e didn't
come back.
T h e y
we nt into th e
ce me te ry
and looke d around but found
noth ing. T h e y
saw a man and a woman
le aving,
but couldn't find th e
girl.
Worrie d,
th e y
we nt to th e addre ss sh e h ad
give n
th e m. T h e
pe ople
th e re
said,
"Are
you
sure sh e
gave you
th is addre ss?"
T h e y
sh owe d th e
boys
some
picture s
and th e
boys re cognize d
th e
girl
at th e dance . "T h at's e ve n
th e dre ss sh e was
we aring," th e y
said. T h e n th e
pe ople
told th e m th at
th e
girl
was th e ir
daugh te r
and th atsh e h ad die d two
ye ars ago.
T h is
h ap-
pe ning pre ye d
so on one of th e
boy's
minds th at h e we nt to th e
Elgin
h ospital
for th e insane and die d about six month s late r.
16
South
Pasade na,
California.-(Abridge d
from th e ve rsion
printe d
in th e
Pasade na
Inde pe nde nt, We dne sday,
Nove mbe r
6,
1940.)
A musician and
two frie nds we nt to a dance .
T h e y
saw a
pre tty girl
all in wh ite wh o looke d
as if sh e we re
floating
on air.
Bill,
one of th e
frie nds,
made th e
girl's
ac-
quaintance
and dance d with h e r. He took h e r h ome and since th e
girl
"fe lt cold" h e h ad h e rwe arh is
coat;
sh e
forgot
to re turn it. He re turne d
to h e r h ome for th e
coat,
h oping
also to re ne w h e r
acquaintance .
T h e
325
CALIFORNIA FOLKLORE
QUART ERLY
girl's
moth e rtold h im h e r
daugh te r
h ad die d th re e
ye ars ago.
Sh e offe re d
to sh ow h im th e
grave . T h e y
we nt to th e
ce me te ry
and found h is coat on
th e
grave .
T h e
young
man and th e moth e rre turne d to th e
h ome ,
wh e re
h e me t th e siste rof th e
spe ctral
dance r. Sh e told
h im,
"Linda
(th e
de ad
girl)
and I
always
wave d to
you
on our
way
to sch ool and we nt to
e ve ry
dance we could. Linda love d
you,
but of course
you
didn't know."
Bill die d two month s late r. T h e oth e r frie nd we nt insane and th e nar-
rator"came close to it."
(He
close s h is
story
with th e obse rvation th at h e
re me mbe re d th ath e h ad not se e n th e
girl's image
in a mirroratth e dance .
"You can'tse e a
gh ost
in a
mirror.")
VERSION D
From Hawaii we h ave six
storie s,
two A ve rsions and two
inte re sting
vari-
ants of A. Ye t two oth e rs diffe r
e nough
to be te rme d Ve rsion D. Accord-
ing
to Hawaiian
myth ology
th e
godde ss
Pe le e
appe ars
and se e ks aid from
h umans,
punish ing
th ose wh o re fuse . It is curious th at in both storie s
th e
godde ss
carrie d a baske t. Wh e th e r th is fact conne cts th e storie s with
th e two middle we ste rn variants in wh ich th e old woman carrie s a baske t
we do not know.'
We do not h ave date s forth e se storie s.
Howe ve r,
th e y
do not looklike
th e
originals
of a vivid Hawaiian tale wh ich
spre ad
all ove r th e Unite d
State s,
for no variant found in Ame rica
give s
th e
sligh te st
h int of an
Hawaiian
origin. Be side s,
Ve rsion A is so we ll e stablish e d in th e Unite d
State s th atit is farmore
like ly
th atth e Pe le e storie s are
variants,
conform-
ing
to Hawaiian traditions.
EXAMPLE OF VERSION D61
17
Oah u
(undate d).-T h is
was told
by
an Hawaiian
girl.
Sh e was
driving
with frie nds to a dance in th e
country
on Oah u.
T h e y passe d
an old
woman burde ne d with a baske tbut did not
stop
to offe rh e ra lift. As
th e y
dre w
away
from h e ra
boy
looke d backand saw th at th e old woman h ad
disappe are d. T h e y spe e de d up, frigh te ne d,
until
th e y
re ach e d th e irde sti-
nation,
th e club. T h e re
th e y
we re
told,
as some h ad
fe are d,
th at th e old
woman was Pe le e .
T h e y
re turne d but could not find h e r.
VARIANT S
T h e se variants are
re produce d substantially
as
th e y
we re told to us. We
h ave made no additions orsubtractions. Wh e n we re fe rto th e "narrator"
60
Se e Nos.
36, 74.
6
Se e also No.
4.
326
it me ans th e
pe rson
wh o told us th e
story.
Foradditional ve rsions
alre ady
in
print
se e "South Carolina Folk
T ale s,"
Bulle tin of th e
Unive rsity
of
South Carolina
(Octobe r, 1941),
pp.
72-74;
R.
Hanke y,
"California
Gh osts,"
California
Folklore
Quarte rly,
I
(April, 1942),
pp.
173-177.
18
Ch icago,
Illinois, I94I.-T h is
myste rious story
we nt th e rounds h e re
last
winte r,
and I firsth e ard it from "a frie nd wh o h e ard it from a frie nd
in
Ch icago
wh o h ad h e ard it from h e r
ne igh bor."
Mike ,
th e 'cab
drive r,
te lls th is
story
of a
myste rious
fare h e h ad in
e arly
De ce mbe r.
Cruising
on a stre e t in downtown
Ch icago
h e
picke d up
an
e lde rly
Siste rof some Cath olic orde rand was told to take h e r to
Stre e t. He h ad h is radio on and
th e y
talke d about Pe arl Harbor for a
wh ile . Sh e
said,
"Itwon't lastmore th an fourmonth s." T h e n
th e y
drove
on and Mike dre w
up
at th e addre ss.
Jumping
out to
ope n
th e cab door
h e was
surprise d
to find no one th e re . Afraid th e little old
lady
h ad
"jumpe d"
h e rfare h e h aste ne d to
inquire
at th e addre ss. It was a conve nt
and wh e n
que stione d by
th e
Supe rior
in
ch arge
Mike told of th e Siste r
wh o h ad
disappe are d
and h adn't
paid
h e rfare . "Wh atdid sh e looklike ?"
th e
Supe rior
aske d,
and
e xplaine d
th at no Siste rfrom th e conve nt h ad
be e n downtown th at
day.
As Mike de scribe d
h e r,
h e
h appe ne d
to look
ata
picture h anging
on th e wall be h ind th e
Supe rior's
de sk. "T h at's
h e r,"
Mike
said,
and
th ough t
to h imse lf th at h e would
ge t
th e fare afte r all.
But th e Moth e r
Supe rior
smile d
quie tly
and
said,
"Butsh e h as be e n de ad
for te n
ye ars."
T h e
only th ing wrong
with th e
story
is th at it's ove rfourmonth s since
th e y
dre ame d it
up
and th e warisn't ove r
ye t.
19
San
Francisco,
California, 942.--T h e police inve stigate d
th e
story
as
told
by
a taxicab drive rwh o came to th e
police
station to se e if h e we re
crazy.
He h ad
picke d up
a fare on Mission
Stre e t,
a lone
nun,
and take n
h e r to th e h ouse of h e r orde r. He
th ough t noth ing
of h e r
be ing
alone as
h e did not re alize th atnuns trave l
se ve rally
in
public.
En route sh e aske d
h im about th e
war,
and h e said it looke d bad. Sh e
re plie d,
"We ll,
it will
e nd in
Se pte mbe r."
Wh e n
th e y
re ach e d th e
conve nt,
sh e h ad no
mone y
for h e r
fare ,
so sh e we nt inside to
ge t
some . T h e drive r waite d h alf an
h our in vain for h e rre turn and th e n
rang
th e be ll. T h e Siste rin
ch arge
of th e door told h im th at no one h ad be e n
away
and th at th e door h ad
327
CALIFORNIA FOLKLORE
QUART ERLY
not be e n
ope ne d
all
e ve ning.
As th e door
swung
farth e r
ope n,
th e drive r
saw th e
ligh te d
inte rior.
Sudde nly
h e
pointe d, saying,
"T h e re sh e is!" He
was
pointing
at a life -size statue of th e Ble sse d
Virgin
wh ich stood in th e
e ntrance h all. Afte r th e Siste r
e xplaine d
th e
ide ntity
of th e
image ,
h e
we nt to th e
police
station to ch e ckon h is
sanity.
20
Be rke le y, California
(undate d).-As
a carslowe d down at th e corne rof
Bancroft
Way
and
Colle ge
Ave nue ,
a
girl signale d
for a ride . Sh e was
picke d up by
two
stude nts,
a fe llow and h is
girl.
It was a
rainy e ve ning.
T h e y
aske d h e rwh e re sh e was
going
and sh e
gave
th e m h e raddre ss. Wh e n
th e y
arrive d,
th e y
turne d around and found sh e was not in th e car.
T h e y
rang
th e doorbe ll and found th at sh e was a
profe ssor's daugh te r,
kille d
in an accide nt at th e corne rof Bancroftand
Colle ge ,
se ve ral
ye ars
be fore .
Each
ye ar
on th e
annive rsary
of h e r
de ath ,
sh e
appe ars
and
ge ts
a ride .
21
T h e be s,
Illinois,
I92o.62-(T h e
narrator said h e
faintly
re me mbe re d
h e aring
th is
story
wh e n h e was
small.)
T h e ve h icle was not an auto or
bus but a small box-like affairuse d
by
th e mail carrie rs on rural route s
and drawn
by
one h orse . T h e mail carrie rout on h is route once
picke d
up
a woman h e
kne w,
possibly
a
re lative ,
and took h e r down th e road.
Finally th e y
came to a stre am. Afte r a
wh ile ,
h e looke d around
(th e
woman satath is
side )
and sh e wasn'tth e re . T h e mail carrie rle arne d late r
th at th e woman h e h ad
picke d up
h ad die d at th e time .
22
Ge orgia,
1912
(some wh at abridge d).-A young
man was
riding
in h is
buggy th rough
a
strange part
of th e state on
busine ss,
trying
to re ach a
ce rtain inn
by midnigh t. Just
as h e was
passing
a
grove
of
giant
oaks,
h e
saw a
girl
in a
ligh t
dre ss th at se e me d of a
bygone pe riod, standing
be side
th e
roadway.
He at once
stoppe d
and aske d if h e could assisth e r. In a
low,
swe e t voice sh e told h im sh e h ad be e n le ft alone in th e
grove
and de sire d
to be take n h ome . As h e assiste d h e rinto th e
carriage
h e was amaze d atth e
ligh tne ss
of h e r
body;
in factth e re was a
strange
dre amlike
quality
about
th e wh ole affair. He also obse rve d a darkstain
upon
h e rfrock.
T h e y
drove a fe w mile s
up
th e
lone ly
road,
and h e rh ome
prove d
to be
62
We re ce ive d th is variant and No.
29
from Grace
Partridge
Smith ,
wh o h as also
publish e d
anoth e r variant in "Folklore from
'Egypt,'"
T h e
Journal of
Ame rican
Folklore ,
LIV
(1941),
54-55-
328
th e ruins of an old South e rn
mansion,
its wh ite columns cold and
gh ostly
in th e
moonligh t.
T h e floorof th e ve randah h ad falle n
in,
but th e
girl
floate d
up
th e old stone
ste ps
and across th e
place
wh e re th e floorh ad
be e n,
th e stain on h e r
gown sh owing
too
plainly
th atit was moonlit blood!
As th e
young
man watch e d in h orrorsh e
disappe are d th rough
th e ruine d
doorway, wh e re upon
h e drove h is
h orse ,
wh ich h ad be e n
re aring
with
frigh t
e ve rsince th e
girl appe are d,
at a
rapid pace up
th e
roadway
to th e
inn. T h e
innke e pe r
told h im th at h e h ad be e n with th e
ne igh borh ood
gh ost,
a
girl
wh o h ad be e n murde re d
by
h e r
je alous
love r
many ye ars
be fore ,
just
at
midnigh t,
in th at
ve ry grove .
On
moonligh t nigh ts
h e r
spirit linge re d
th e re ,
and
any
trave le r
passing just
at
midnigh t
would
be
accoste d,
and
re que ste d
to take h e r to th e old
family
mansion wh e re
sh e
live d,
wh ich h ad now
long
lain in ruins.
23
Montana,
I920.-(T h is
was
suppose d
to be a true
story.
T h e narrator
h e ard it from a man wh o h ad
just
be e n re le ase d from th e
navy.)
It con-
ce rne d
picking up
a
young girl
wh o h ad
pre viously
be e n kille d at th e
spot
sh e was
picke d up.
24
Summit,
Illinois
(told
be fore
I933).-T h e
narrator said th at sh e could
re me mbe r
h aving
h e ard a
story
be fore th e World's Fairof a woman ne ar
th e
grave yard
at Summit. Sh e h ad
stoppe d pe ople
and aske d for a
ride ,
h ad
give n
th e m a
Ch icago
addre ss and
disappe are d.
Wh e n th e
pe ople
calle d at th e
addre ss,
th e y
le arne d th at th e woman h ad die d some time
be fore .
25
Hot
Springs, Virginia, I930.-("T h is
is
suppose d
to be
true ,
and all th at
stuff.")
A
couple
we re
driving
to
Covington, Virginia. T h e y picke d up
a
girl
wh o le ft some article in th e
car,
afte r
th e y
h ad
droppe d
h e r.
T h e y
tookit to h e r
folks,
wh o told th e m sh e was de ad.
26
Cle ve land, Oh io,
I93I.3--(T h is story
was vouch e d for
by
a frie nd of a
frie nd of th e
narrator.)
A
young
man,
motoring
h ome late one
nigh t
ove r
a de se rte d
h igh way,
slowe d down for a
dange rous
inte rse ction and
saw,
standing by
th e
roadside ,
a
girl,
bare h e ade d and dre sse d in
e ve ning ap-
63
Re printe d
from th e Ne w
Yorke r,
"Sh outs and Murmurs"
col.,
A. Woollcott
(Nove mbe r
13, 1931)-
329
CALIFORNIA FOLKLORE
QUART ERLY
pare l.
Sh e
signale d
h im to
stop
and,
giving
some
e xplanation
about a
misunde rstanding
wh ich h ad le ft h e r
strande d,
aske d h im to take h e r
backto th e
city.
He was h alf fe arful of a
h old-up
trick,
but sh e was
quite
alone ,
and h e de cide d to take th e risk. T h e
girl
se e me d
ve ry
tire d
and,
afte r
giving
h im th e numbe r of h e rh ome in a familiar
stre e t,
lapse d
into
sile nce .
T h e y
drove on to town with out furth e rconve rsation.
Swinging
into th e stre e t th e
girl
h ad
me ntione d,
th e drive rturne d to
spe ak
to h e r and discove re d with a sh ockth at sh e was no
longe r
in th e
car. He h ad be e n
driving ste adily
for
many
mile s and kne w sh e could
not
possibly
h ave
gotte n
out. It was h ard forh im to cre dit h is own se nse s.
He
pulle d up
be fore th e numbe r sh e h ad
give n,
and afte r a daze d mo-
me nt,
walke d
up
to th e h ouse and
rang
th e be ll.
A
we ary-looking e lde rly ge ntle man
invite d h im
in,
liste ne d with out
surprise
to h is incoh e re nt
account,
and offe re d h im a sh ot of
wh isky
to
ste ady
h is ne rve s.
Ye s,
th is h ad
h appe ne d
be fore ,
h e said.
Hardly
a month
passe d
with out a visit late at
nigh t
from some distracte d
young
man wh o
told a similar
story.
Ye s,
h e kne w th e
girl
wh om
th e y
all de scribe d. Sh e
was
undoubte dly
h is
daugh te r,
wh o h ad be e n kille d in a collision at th at
inte rse ction more th an a
ye ar
be fore .
27
San
Fe rnando, California, I935.-T h is
girl
was
picke d up
on Wh ittie r
Boule vard and take n to San Fe rnando Mission
by
an old man and h is
wife ,
wh o bundle d h e r
up
in th e backse at in blanke ts and robe s be cause
sh e was
inade quate ly
dre sse d forsuch a
cold,
windy, rainy nigh t.
T raffic
conditions made conve rsation so difficult th at
th e y th ough t
th e
girl,
h aving got
warm,
h ad
gone
to
sle e p.
Prie sts at th e mission said th e
girl
was a
foundling
wh o h ad live d at th e mission all h e r life . But sh e h ad
be e n kille d in trafficon Wh ittie r Boule vard two
ye ars
be fore and th atwas
th e th ird car th at h ad
stoppe d
th e re th at
e ve ning
with th e same
story.
T h e y
we re much
upse t,
but th e old
couple
continue d on th e ir
way
to
San Francisco.
28
San
Francisco, California
(undate d).-("T h is
is a true
story.")
T h e re
was a fe llow
driving
alone ,
wh o
passe d
St.
Ignatius'
Ch urch in San Fran-
cisco,
on a
stormy,
we t
day.
He saw a
woman,
dre sse d in blackand
ve ile d,
by
th e
ch urch ;
h e offe re d h e ra
ride ,
since sh e
obviously
was
waiting
for
some th ing
of th e sort. Sh e
gave
h im an addre ss. On th e
way
th e re
th e y
talke d;
as
th e y
came ne arh e r
place ,
h e notice d th atsh e was not
answe ring
330
h im and looke d ove r toward h e r. Sh e was
gone .
He we nt to th e
addre ss,
found a man th e re wh o
prove d
to be h e rfath e r. He was told sh e h ad die d
about a
ye ar
be fore .
29
Du
Quoin,
Illinois
(undate d).-(T h is story
by
a cousin wh o kne w one of th e two drive rs of th e bus in
que stion.)
It
se e ms th at two
boys
we re
bringing
a bus from one town to anoth e r.
T h e y
h ad to
pass th rough
se ve ral towns. It was
raining
h ard-almost
sh e e ts of
wate r;
it was also cold. T h e
boys
h ad be e n
driving
since
e arly
morning.
It was now
e ve ning
and
th e y
we re
ve ry
tire d.
T h e y ke pt talking
to
ke e p
awake . T h e bus was
e mpty. Sudde nly,
one of th e m saw about a
h undre d fe e t in front th e
figure
of a
girl.
Sh e h ad on a wh ite
gown
and
was
standing ve ry
still
by
th e side of th e road.
T h e y stoppe d
th e bus and
aske d h e r if sh e would ride . Sh e
nodde d,
wh e re upon
sh e
got
in and sat
down on th e floorin th e aisle .
T h e y
aske d h e r to h ave a se at but sh e re -
fuse d and also re fuse d a raincoat wh ich one of th e
boys
offe re d h e r. As
th e bus drove
along
sh e be came talkative . Sh e told th e m wh e re sh e was
going,
wh ich was th e ne xt
town,
and e ve n
gave
th e m th e stre e t addre ss.
T h e
boys
continue d
talking
to
h e r,
but
th e y
did not lookat h e rsince th e
rain h ad now be come h e avie rand it tookboth of th e m to watch th e road.
Pre se ntly, th e y
drove ove ra
bridge
and as
th e y
drove ove r
th e y
aske d h e r
a
que stion.
Sh e did not
answe r, and,
as one of th e
boys
turne d,
h e saw
th e
girl
was
gone !
T h is rath e runne rve d
th e m,
forth e bus h ad not
stoppe d
and
th e y
h ad not
ope ne d
th e door.
T h e y
continue d th e ir
trip, arriving
in town in about
th irty
minute s.
T h e y parke d
th e bus at th e station and
we nt
quickly
to th e addre ss th e
girl
h ad
give n.
It was late
e ve ning,
but
wh e n
th e y rappe d
a woman came to th e doorand aske d wh at
th e y
wante d.
T h e y
told h e r th e
e pisode
and sh e th anke d th e m for
coming.
Sh e told
th e m th at at th e
spot
wh e re
th e y
h ad
picke d up
th e
girl,
h e r
daugh te r
h ad be e n kille d in an auto accide nt four
ye ars
be fore .
T h e y
we re th e
th ird
party
to come and te ll h e rof th e same
e pisode
wh ich h ad
h appe ne d
e ach
ye ar.
Urbana,
Illinois
(undate d).-About
five or six mile s we st of Urbana
on th e h ard road th e re is a
grave yard.
One time an auto was
going along
on th e h ard
road, Route
150,
be twe e n Urbana and Danville . Be fore
th e y
came to th e
ce me te ry
a woman was
h itch h iking along
th e road and th e
man
stoppe d
th e carto
pick
h e r
up.
Sh e
got
in th e backse at of th e car.
T h e man drove
by
th e
grave yard.
A little wh ile
afte r,
h e notice d th e
woman h ad
disappe are d.
331
CALIFORNIA FOLKLORE
QUART ERLY
31
A Midwe st
City (undate d).-(T h is h appe ne d
to a frie nd of th e narra-
tor's
broth e r-in-law.)
Wh ile
driving
in a midwe st
city
h e
picke d up
a
young
woman wh o
gave
h im h e raddre ss. Wh e n
th e y
arrive d,
sh e h ad dis-
appe are d. Having
h e r name and
addre ss,
h e we nt to th e door. A woman
answe re d and said it was h e r
daugh te r,
de ad
twe nty-five ye ars
be fore .
32
Honolulu,
Hawaii, i936.- (T h is
h appe ne d
to a
re porte r
on th e Hono-
lulu
Star,
ne w to th e
Islands.)
Out late on an
assignme nt,
h e drove to Wai-
kiki be ach for a swim. T h e re h e found a
girl
alone on th e
be ach ;
sh e
looke d at h im
que stioningly.
He talke d to h e rand drove h e rh ome . Sh e
told h im to
stop
as h e came to a h ouse h idde n
among
tre e s,
off th e road
wh ich le ads
up
Nuuanu
Valle y.
Sh e th anke d h im and as sh e
got
out sh ook
h ands and told h im h e r name
(now forgotte n by narrator).
He re alize d
th at h e rh and was
we t,
and fe lt th e se atwh e re sh e h ad be e n. He found it
also
we t,
with a
pie ce
of se awe e d
lying
on it. T h e ne xt
day
in conve rsa-
tion with a
frie nd,
h e le arne d th atsh e h ad be e n th e
daugh te r
of a
we alth y
family
and h ad be e n drowne d on Waikiki Be ach .
33
Wash ington,
D. C.
(undate d).-A Wash ington
man's wife was
ve ry
ill
in th e
h ospital
and die d. Sh e
promise d
h im sh e would re turn. So e ach
ye ar
th e re is a tale th at a woman
ge ts
into a taxi and te lls th e drive rto
go
to a ce rtain
h ouse ,
and to be sure to
go up
and
ring
th e doorbe ll no matte r
wh at
h appe ns.
Wh e n th e drive r arrive s at th e addre ss th e re is no one
in th e car. He
rings
th e doorbe ll of th e h ouse . T h e h usband come s to th e
door,
says noth ing,
but
pays
th e taxi drive r.
34
Pue bla,
Me xico
(undate d).-(T h is h appe ne d
to a frie nd of th e nar-
rator.)
A
trave ling
sale sman wh o
fre que ntly
trave le d th e road be twe e n
Pue bla and Me xico
City
was e n route to Pue bla one
day
with a frie nd
wh e n h e saw a
girl walking along
th e
h igh way.
He
stoppe d,
offe re d h e r
a ride , found sh e was
going
to a town on h is route .
T h e y
arrive d th e re in
th e
e ve ning,
wh e n th e
girl
invite d th e two me n to
stay
for
suppe r. T h e y
found sh e h ad a siste rat h e rh ouse
(th e
abse nce of a due nia was
e xplaine d
at
le ngth by
th e
narrator)
and with be e rand
dancing passe d
th e
e ve ning
332
ve ry ple asantly.
T h e sale sme n le ft on th e ir
route ,
inte nding
to re turn for
anoth e r
ple asant
visit wh e n
opportunity
offe re d.
T h e y
h ad no ch ance for
some time -about a month -and wh e n
th e y
did
ge t
back,
th e y
found th e
h ouse
de se rte d,
ove rgrown,
th e doors se ale d with sticke rs.
T h e y inquire d
to find h ow th is could
be ,
asking
th e
store ke e pe r
wh o sold th e m th e be e r
and re me mbe re d th e ir
arriving
be fore . But h e said th e
girls
h ad not live d
th e re
th e n,
th atone h ad be e n kille d on th e
h igh way
be twe e n Me xico
City
and Pue bla
(wh e re
sh e h ad be e n
picke d up)
and th at th e oth e r h ad le ft
foran unknown de stination about two
ye ars
be fore .
35
Honolulu, Hawaii,
I936.-(T h is
was told aboard
sh ip le aving
Hono-
lulu in
1936,
as
h appe ning
to a frie nd of one of th e
cre w.)
T h e frie nd was
a
re porte r
on th e Honolulu
Star,
ne w to th e Islands in
1934.
As
you
go
out Fort Stre e t
you
come to Nuuanu
Boule vard,
wh ich runs out toward
th e falls th at
drop
ove r th e Pali. T h is
re porte r,
wh o live d in Nuuanu
Valle y,
wh e re th e h ome s of th e
we alth y
are
spre ad
in th e h ills above
Honolulu,
h ad be e n out on an
assignme nt
and was
driving
h ome late
in th e
nigh t.
He came to a
stop
atan
arte rial,
wh e re FortStre e tcome s into
Nuuanu,
wh e n h e h e ard a fe minine voice . He looke d around and saw a
girl,
wh o aske d if h e would drive h e r
up
th e road. He aske d h e rto
ge t
in
th e
car,
noticing
th at sh e was an attractive
girl
in
e ve ning
cloth e s,
with
a cowle d black ve lve t
cape
ove r h e r h e ad and sh oulde rs. Sh e said h e r
fath e r's h ouse was
up
th e
Nuuanu,
almost to Pali Road. He
propose d
th at
th e y
drive out for a drink and a dance be fore
going
h ome ,
be ing
re ady
for wh at
migh t
come
along.
Wh e n sh e
acce pte d,
h e drove back
th rough
town and out to a road
h ouse ,
wh e re
th e y
h ad se ve ral dance s.
But sh e would not drink e ve n wh e n h e orde re d for
h e r,
nor would sh e
take a
cigare tte .
And h e notice d th at sh e did not take th e cowl of h e r
cape
from h e r h e ad. T h e
place
close d soon and
th e y
h ad to le ave .
T h e y
parke d
and "ne cke d" for a bit on th e Pali road. He notice d
again
th at
sh e sme lle d
strongly
of
pe rfume s
and
cosme tics,
and th at sh e continue d
to we arth e cowl.
Finally
sh e
said,
"I'd be tte r
go
h ome now." So h e drove
h e r backto Nuuanu. At a
place
wh e re th e re was no h ouse in
sigh t
for a
couple
of h undre d
yards,
sh e
said,
"You can
stop
h e re ." Wh e n h e
que s-
tione d
th is,
sh e
said,
"I can make it all
righ t."
T h e last h e h e ard was a
silve ry laugh
as sh e we nt into th e darkne ss. He h ad le arne d h e r
name ,
Marian Crawford. So th e ne xt
day
h e looke d for"Crawford" in th e
ph one
book,
but didn't find it th e re . Late ra frie nd me ntione d th e Crawfords,
333
CALIFORNIA FOLKLORE
QUART ERLY
saying
th at
th e y
h ad le ft forth e mainland afte rth e de ath of th e ir
daugh -
te r. T h e
re porte r
de scribe d th e incide nt. His frie nd
gre w pale
and
said,
"Marian Crawford was kille d in an auto accide nt on Nuuanu Boule -
vard." T h e
girl
h ad be e n
give n
to
h igh living, drinking,
and
cutting up-
sh e h ad be e n kille d on th e
way
h ome from a wild
party.
36
Farmington,
Minne sota,
I936.-(T h is story
was
wide ly
told in Minne -
sota about five
ye ars ago.)
Ne ar
Farmington,
a
man,
driving
on th e
h igh -
way, picke d up
an old woman
carrying
a baske tof
apple s.
As
th e y
drove
along,
sh e
sudde nly disappe are d.
Late r,
h e le arne d th at sh e h ad
pre -
viously
die d,
or th at sh e was conne cte d with some one 's de ath .
37
Ch icago,
Illinois,
I933.-(T h is story
was in circulation at th e time of
th e
Ce ntury
of
Progre ss Exposition.)
It conce rne d me n wh o
gave
an auto-
mobile ride to a woman wh o was
walking along
a
h igh way. T h e y put
h e r
into th e re arse atof a two-doorse dan. Sh e vanish e d wh ile th e doors we re
close d,
but
following up
th e conve rsation wh ich
th e y
h ad h ad with
h e r,
th e y finally
locate d h e rforme rh ome and de scribe d h e rso
accurate ly
th at
h e r
pare nts e asily
ide ntifie d h e r as th e ir de ce ase d
daugh te r.
38
Long
Be ach , California,
I933.-(T h is
by
a
woman wh o said it
actually
h ad
h appe ne d.)
A numbe r of
pe rsons
we re
kille d in th e
Long
Be ach
e arth quake ;
oth e rs we re e vacuate d. Wh ile some
pe ople
we re
driving
backto
Long
Be ach ,
th e y picke d up
an old woman
wh o
gave
th e m h e raddre ss in
Long
Be ach
(original e xact).
Sh e satin th e
backse at.
T h e y
we re
stoppe d by
trafficse ve ral time s. Wh e n
th e y
arrive d
at th e
addre ss,
sh e was
gone , le aving some th ing
in th e car.
T h e y
we re not
surprise d,
be cause th e old woman h ad se e me d
daze d,
but wh e n
th e y
aske d
at th e h ouse ne xt door
th e y
found sh e h ad be e n kille d a fe w
days
be fore
in th e
e arth quake .
39
Midwe st
(about I935).-Some large city
was me ntione d. A man
picke d
up
a
middle -age d
woman. Sh e said sh e h ad to
ge t
into th e
city.
Sh e re com-
me nde d a h ote l and warne d h im to be
care ful,
be cause th e re was
going
to be an
e pide mic.
He took h e r to th e
addre ss,
but sh e le ft
some th ing
in th e car. He found th e h ouse de se rte d wh e n h e re turne d th e ne xt morn-
334
ing.
He aske d th e
ne igh bors,
wh o said h e rh usband h ad be e n ill at h ome
wh ile sh e was
away.
In
re turning
to town sh e h ad be e n kille d. Since th e n
pe ople fre que ntly
h ad come to th e irh ouse with article s
suppose dly
h e rs.
40
Ph ilade lph ia,
Pe nnsylvania, I937
or
I938.-It
se e ms th at a frie nd of
a frie nd wh om none of us e ve r
actually
me t h ad
gone
to a dance and afte r
taking
h is
girl
h ome ,
h e starte d forh is h ome wh ich was out in a suburb
calle d Frankford. It was
raining
and
misty
and as h e was
passing
a ce me -
te ry (I
h ave
forgotte n
th e name of
it)
h e saw a
girl
in a wh ite satin e ve -
ning
dre ss
standing by
th e road. He aske d if h e could
h e lp
h e ras it was
quite
late and sh e said sh e wante d to
go
to h e r h ome and
gave
h im th e
addre ss. Sh e insiste d
upon ge tting
into th e backof th e caralone . T h e
boy
claims to h ave take n h e r to th e addre ss sh e
me ntione d,
but
upon
arriv-
ing
th e re ,
discove re d th at sh e h ad vanish e d. His car was a two-door
se dan and h e couldn't
figure
out h ow sh e h ad
gotte n
out with out h is
se e ing
h e r. He we nt
up
and knocke d on th e doorof h e r
h ouse ;
h e rmoth e r
answe re d th e door and said th at h e must h ave
picke d up
h e r
daugh te r.
T h e
daugh te r
h ad be e n kille d in an automobile accide nt
just
at th e
spot
wh e re h e h ad
picke d
h e r
up
and sh e h ad be e n
we aring
th e cloth e s h e
h ad de scribe d. He r moth e r told th e
boy
to
forge t
about it as it
h appe ne d
e ve ry
fe w month s and th at it wasn't
anyth ing
unusual to h e r.
335

Vanishing Hitchhiker

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Vanishing Hitchhiker

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

http://www.jstor.

You might also like